Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in United States Virgin Islands

Re: Estate accounting

estate values are based on 'fair market value". For real estate that is not usually assessed vaule. A market anaysis and valuation by an appraiser is needed. Same for a business...normally an appraisal is done. For stocks/bonds, the value is the average price (mean high/low value) on the date of death. Personal property (furniture, artwork, etc.) is usually valued by an appraiser.

Re: Estate accounting

I generally concur with Jon. In part, the answer depends upon who is inheriting, the potential for estate/inheritance taxes and other matters. Estates, for estate/inheritance tax purposes, have the opportunity to use date of death or an alternative value (the alternative value being made based upon post-death sales price or the value 6 months from the date of death, whichever is earlier). Considerations must be made of the tax rates involved. For example, an estate may have an estate tax rate of 30% or more. Long-term capital gain rates are only 15%. Thus, it might be wise to use the lower of date of death or alternative value amount if the estate/inheritance tax rate is greater than the capital gain rate. If you would like more information, contact me directly.