Gifted or bequested assets must be assigned a value for federal transfer tax purposes. The IRS may assess penalty taxes on estates that undervalue assets for estate and gift tax purposes. Penalties are less likely to be levied if a valuation has been performed in good faith by an independent third party appraiser. A qualified appraisal prepared by a competent professional appraiser helps establish a "reasonable basis" for the valuation.

Many estate and gift tax planning techniques used to reduce tax liability require a professional valuation for validity. Techniques include charitable remainder trusts, family limited partnerships, charitable lead trusts, private foundations, private annuities, generation-skipping trusts, grantor-retained trusts (GRAT) and annuity trusts.

For example, a family limited partnership potentially requires an appraisal of the underlying assets to determine the value of assets held or transferred to a partnership. After the value of the partnership’s underlying assets are appraised, a limited partnership interest must be appraised to determine the amount of transfer tax due, if any.

Adams Capital's professionals are experts in the valuation of assets for gift and estate tax planning. Our abilities and experience allow us to consider all feasible alternatives to help clients attain their estate planning goals.

Return to Products & Services Page