Real estate appraisals for estate and gift tax purposes.
Terra Realty Partners specializes in date-of-death and retrospective valuations that support IRS estate tax filings, step-up in basis, probate, and trust administration across California.
Retained by the professionals who guide a family through estate settlement.
- Estate attorneys
- CPAs & accountants
- Executors & trustees
- Families & heirs
Real estate appraisal focused on estate and gift tax matters.
Estate work has its own standards, deadlines, and scrutiny from the IRS. Every report we prepare is built to hold up under that review, not adapted from a lending template.
Estate tax filings
Retrospective appraisals establishing fair market value as of the date of death, prepared for inclusion in the federal estate tax return and California probate filings.
Documentation the IRS expects
Reports formatted and supported to the standard estate tax examiners look for, reducing the chance of a valuation being challenged or the return being flagged for audit.
Cost basis for heirs
Appraisals establishing the stepped-up basis heirs need on inherited property, so a future sale is reported and taxed correctly.
Court & fiduciary reporting
Valuations supporting probate inventories, trust accountings, and distributions among beneficiaries, prepared to the standard fiduciaries and courts require.
Lifetime property transfers
Fair market value opinions supporting gift tax returns when real estate is transferred to family members or into trust during the owner's lifetime.
Pre-need & trust funding
Current-value appraisals prepared ahead of time for estate planning, trust funding, and buy-sell agreements between family members.
How an estate appraisal moves from order to report.
We work directly with the attorney, CPA, or executor handling the estate, on the timeline the filing requires.
Scope & valuation date
We confirm the property, the required valuation date — often the date of death or an alternate valuation date — and the filing it will support.
Site inspection
An appraiser inspects the property and researches historical market conditions as of the required valuation date.
Retrospective analysis
We reconstruct fair market value as of the effective date using comparable sales and market data from that period, reconciled to a defensible opinion.
Report delivery
A USPAP-compliant report is delivered in draft for the attorney or CPA to review, then finalized and signed ahead of the filing deadline.
Credentials the IRS and probate courts recognize.
Every report is signed by a California state-certified general appraiser, prepared in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and IRS valuation guidelines.
California Certified General Real Estate Appraiser
MAI designation, Appraisal Institute
Qualified appraiser under IRS estate & gift tax standards
USPAP-compliant reporting on every assignment
Regularly retained by probate & trust attorneys statewide
E&O insured to industry standard
Request an appraisal.
Tell us about the property and the filing it needs to support, and we'll follow up with a scope and fee quote within one business day.