Readers’ forum: Estate valuations

I have not been accustomed to dealing with estates but as my clients get older it seems more likely that this is something that will come within my purview. Generally speaking I have always assumed that when valuing the assets in an estate one should look for low rather than high valuations.

Property is a case in point. When valuing say a property that was the testator’s main residence there will presumably be a range of figures with the property being expected to sell for something between the lower and upper amounts. Many will presumably adopt a lower valuation often based on a fear of an inheritance tax liability – and I have even seen this approach taken when there is no possibility of inheritance tax being paid because say the deceased has the benefit of their spouse’s nil rate...