An estate's tangible personal property (TPP), though often overlooked, can be of significant value, and must be given serious consideration during the estate planning process.

In order for estate planning professionals to properly manage an estate, they absolutely must know the identity, location, and fair market value of all luxury assets. This ensures that clients accurately identify items for sale, donation, or distribution; avoid theft or loss; and appropriately insure assets.

While a client may attempt to provide insight into the vale of their assets, estate planning professionals should not exclusively rely upon such identifications and opinions of value. This is because clients typically imbue assets with sentimental value, aesthetic bias, and/or a lack of market knowledge. It's not uncommon to see an individual either dispose of a valuable asset for significantly less than fair market value or structure their financial plans around an inflated and unsubstantiated opinion of value.

In order to effectively establish an inventory list, complete with fair market values, an estate planning professional will need to collaborate with an appraiser who has passed her qualifications under the federally-mandated Uniform Standards of the Professional Appraisal Practice ("USPAP"). A USPAP-qualified appraiser can provide estate planning professionals with thoroughly researched and well-reasoned opinions of value to help facilitate estate management.

In hiring a qualified appraiser, an estate planning professional will ensure that their clients make financially sounds decisions, and avoid costly mistakes.