What is the name of your state? Oregon
Hello, my brother and I were fortunate enough to be the beneficiaries of my grandfather's estate, inheriting 2 pieces of ranch/farm/timber land as specified in his will. My grandfather had gone through extensive estate planning in the years prior to his death and had greatly reduced the estate's value through gifting, trusts, etc. He believed his estate to be either below or near the 1M limit for Oregon estate taxes, so it would pass to us nearly tax-free.
So, here's the issue. He and his accountant had estimated the land to be worth approx. $665,000 in their estate planning. I assume their estimated values were reached by looking at the property tax RMV's ($625,500) and comparable land sales in the area (he had bought/sold many pieces of land over the years). Well, now with the estate in probate and having had a formal appraisal done, the land came back as being valued at $1,132,000. This of course, along with the other assets, puts the estate at well over 1M. Now being faced with coming up with tens of thousands of dollars in estate taxes, my brother and I are wondering what our options are regarding the appraisal. Although I'm aware that RMV's are rarely accurate and typically under-value property, I'm having a hard time accepting the appraisal being that far off what was expected (almost double).
Questions: Can the appraisal be contested or amended? Can we request a second appraisal? Can the property value be discounted in any other way?
Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Hello, my brother and I were fortunate enough to be the beneficiaries of my grandfather's estate, inheriting 2 pieces of ranch/farm/timber land as specified in his will. My grandfather had gone through extensive estate planning in the years prior to his death and had greatly reduced the estate's value through gifting, trusts, etc. He believed his estate to be either below or near the 1M limit for Oregon estate taxes, so it would pass to us nearly tax-free.
So, here's the issue. He and his accountant had estimated the land to be worth approx. $665,000 in their estate planning. I assume their estimated values were reached by looking at the property tax RMV's ($625,500) and comparable land sales in the area (he had bought/sold many pieces of land over the years). Well, now with the estate in probate and having had a formal appraisal done, the land came back as being valued at $1,132,000. This of course, along with the other assets, puts the estate at well over 1M. Now being faced with coming up with tens of thousands of dollars in estate taxes, my brother and I are wondering what our options are regarding the appraisal. Although I'm aware that RMV's are rarely accurate and typically under-value property, I'm having a hard time accepting the appraisal being that far off what was expected (almost double).
Questions: Can the appraisal be contested or amended? Can we request a second appraisal? Can the property value be discounted in any other way?
Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.