A date-of-death valuation answers a narrow question with precision: what was this real property worth on the specific day the owner died? Trustees, personal representatives, and heirs build on that number to close probate, complete federal reporting, and lock in the stepped-up cost basis that later governs capital-gains exposure when the property sells.
Who Orders This Type of Report
Requests typically arrive from estate attorneys, CPAs, court-appointed executors, and successor trustees who are winding up an estate, preparing IRS Form 706, allocating assets among siblings, or recording the new basis carried by an inherited San Diego County residence. A residence held in a living trust calls for the same date-anchored figure before the trustee can distribute or report to beneficiaries.
Rebuilding the Market as It Stood
Rather than pricing the home against today's listings, I reassemble the neighborhood as buyers experienced it during the week the owner died, drawing on sales that closed in that window and adjusting for how conditions have shifted since. The finished document walks through the property itself, the comparable evidence, the market climate on that date, and a conclusion supported line by line — the level of proof examiners and probate judges look for.
Prepared for Scrutiny
Each assignment follows USPAP and is written to hold up in front of the IRS, San Diego County Superior Court probate departments, and opposing counsel. Two decades of local practice covering everything from Fire Mountain bungalows to newer construction in Rancho del Oro means the comparable analysis reflects how these submarkets actually behave, not a countywide average.
A Plain Explanation of Stepped-Up Basis
Inherited real estate does not carry the decedent's original purchase price forward. Its basis instead resets to what the property was worth the day the owner died, so a documented appraisal often becomes the single most valuable page in the estate file — heirs are taxed only on gains that accrue after that date.
Coverage and Scheduling
Interior-and-exterior, drive-by, and desktop assignments are all available across every community in San Diego County, and I extend the same full menu north into Temecula and Murrieta. If the subject sits elsewhere in California, a desktop valuation completed without a site visit remains available.
Request This Appraisal
Fees begin at $299 and your exact figure is confirmed before you commit to anything. Review the full fee schedule or ask for a free quote. Interior-inspection appraisals cover all of San Diego County plus Temecula and Murrieta; desktop appraisals, which require no property visit, are available anywhere else in California.