The upcoming holiday season is nearly upon us! While you are ordering presents, baking cookies with family over Zoom, and fishing out your vintage Nat King Cole records from the basement or attic, take a few minutes to consider the golden opportunities Probity Appraisal Services can offer you during the next few calendar months. Thanksgiving celebrates generosity, and tax effective charitable giving may be the most helpful tool to boost your cause and simultaneously keep more funds in your account. An effective tax rate of 40% equals a net benefit of 40 cents on the dollar! Reach out to our Director of Business Development, Jennie Lumpkin, and we will call you for an informal chat to find out what we can do for you.

Jennie@ProbityAppraisal.com

(540) 322-3884

Insurance…Experts?

Perhaps you have been meeting often with your financial advisers and working with a team of professionals to maximize your estate planning and organize future equitable distribution of your estate. Many other situations requiring technical tax expertise arise unexpectedly, and the ultimate success or failure of these events hinge on the guidance of seasoned professional experts or (Yikes!) amateurs. Many people falsely believe insurance events are formulaic and interchangeable. This is not the case. The expertise of the appraisers, the CPA, and other experts make all the difference in the world. Getting the best will serve you now and in the future. Protecting yourself is always worth it!

(Seriously-when have you ever regrated protecting yourself?)

A Note on Auctions…

You have heard of Fair Market Value and like many estate planners, you may plan to downsize through a local or national auction house. Before you do you should know that Fair Market Value as defined by the IRS is different than sales at auctions or galleries. This difference, due to the provisions that FMV requires adequate exposure time on the market, knowledgeable buyers and sellers, no compulsion, and willingness to buy and sell can greatly change the financial landscape. We do not do blanket solutions, and the difference between an expert teasing out the differences between what constitutes Fair Market Value for valuation of your charitable contribution on your Form 1040 Schedule A itemized deductions, can be substantial. We ensure these valuations are accurate and backed by hard market data.

Apples to Apples…or Dried Banana Skins?

Every week we see clients who trusted the wrong people before coming to us. There are a lot of individuals who call themselves appraisers who just…are not. We can back up our claims, our expertise, and our reputation. Our appraisers are USPAP compliant, AAA, ISA, or ASA affiliated and accredited, and bring relevant work experience and a lifetime of connoisseurship and academic excellence to their practice. They are Ivy League graduates, museum curators, and historians, as well as accredited members of professional organizations sponsoring The Appraisal Foundation. They have been holding themselves to a higher standard for a lifetime, and detail, accuracy, and integrity are at the heart of all they do. You do not have to call us, but before you hire anyone else, make sure they can answer the following questions about your art and your heirlooms.

• Can they explain the difference between regular FMV, auction results, and IRS defined FMV?
• Do they provide multiple relevant and recent comparable sales in detailed reports so the IRS has clarification on valuations?
• Do they provide a full analysis of the art works, including relevant sales within an appropriate time frame and within the context of professional levels of connoisseurship?
• Do they understand multiple markets and the importance of trends and micro trends within these markets?
• Are they considered an expert in their field?
• Do they have the education to prove it?
• Are they compliant with USPAP, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice?
• Are they accredited with a professional appraisal association?
• Do they have a nuanced understanding of the characteristics of value that affect appraised value, such as condition, scarcity, popularity, tariffs, and supply and demand?

We look forward to working with you. In the meantime, here is one of our favorite holiday recipes:

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

Cream:

• 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar

Mix in:

• 2 cups white flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. cloves

Bake in cupcake tins for about 22 minutes until center is set.

Frosting:

• 2 cups Irish salted or unsalted butter
• 1 cube cream cheese
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 bag confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream the frosting and add additional cream as needed until spreadable. Frost the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!