Sometimes, people who are appointed as executors of certain a Will face the problem of a fair distribution of some of the assets included in the will. Oftentimes these assets are in form of cars and other automobiles which can’t be practically split and shared among the inheritors. In this case, the best option is to go for estate settlement car appraisals.

Understanding an Estate Settlement Process

In the event that a person dies, his properties are placed in “probate”. Probate here means the period in which the will of the deceased will be validated. During this time, it will be determined if the deceased’s estate will be taxed and how best to share the assets included in it.

Situations That Require an Estate Settlement Car Appraisal

While the liquid assets in a deceased’s estate can be easily distributed, the non-liquid ones are not always that easily divisible. These ones could include prized possessions like antique vehicles or custom-made cars. In the event that these possessions are to be shared among a number of inheritors, there might be a need for estate settlement car appraisals in other to know what it is worth on the current market.

Legally, any vehicle that is worth more than $5,000 ought to be documented in an estate settlement. True, the deceased might have appraised the vehicle at some point when he was still alive. However, if the appraisal isn’t recent enough, there might be a need to re-appraise the vehicle to ascertain its worth on the current market. This is especially so in the cases of antique and classic cars.

Another reason why estate settlement car appraisals might be needed is to settle court disputes. Sometimes inheritors may claim to have been unfairly treated in the distribution of a deceased’s will, and it might lead to a court battle. To find out if indeed all parties have been treated fairly, all assets therein the deceased’s estate must be appropriated and accounted for. If cars are part of these assets, then they must be appraised, and their real value ascertained. Only then, can experts now see if indeed there has been a maldistribution of the deceased’s properties.

There is also the case of tax settlement. As an inheritor, you are obligated to pay inheritance taxes. If you’ve inherited a sizable fortune, it would be shrewd that you carefully calculate your taxes and pay them off before you get in trouble with the IRS. If cars are part of what you inherited, carry out a very thorough appraisal yourself, and then send the IRS a highly detailed report along with your tax remittance. This would save you a lot of money rather than having the IRS estimate your car’s value themselves.

So, if you have been charged with executing a will and you face asset distribution problems like these, you now know what to do. If you are a collector of classic and antique cars, this piece of information might also be vital to you. Having your prized vehicles professionally appraised will help you handle not just the IRS better, but your insurance company as well. There are other benefits of car appraisals that would be discussed in subsequent articles.

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