The Date of Death Appraisal: What Executors Need to Know

Acting as an executor carries real responsibility, and one of the quieter obligations is establishing what the deceased’s property was worth on the day they died. That figure does more work than most people expect. It can shape the final tax return, the cost base the heirs inherit, and the fair distribution of the estate. Getting it documented properly, by the right kind of professional, protects everyone involved.

Why the date of death value matters

For tax purposes, property is generally treated as having been sold at its fair market value immediately before death, unless it passes to a surviving spouse, in which case a rollover usually defers the gain. That date of death value sets the numbers on the final return and becomes the heirs’ new cost base. When the estate or the heirs later sell, the gain is measured from that value. An accurate figure now prevents a larger and harder to defend problem later.

What makes it a retrospective appraisal

Because the value is needed as of a past date, often months and sometimes years before the file is being settled, this is a retrospective appraisal. The appraiser reconstructs the market as it stood at the date of death, using comparable sales that closed around that time and the evidence available for that moment, rather than today’s conditions. It is a discipline that rewards experience, because the data has to be sourced and interpreted as it existed then.

What it supports

A properly prepared date of death appraisal supports probate and estate administration, gives counsel and accountants a defensible basis for their filings, and helps the executor distribute the estate fairly among beneficiaries. Where the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) later asks how a value was determined, a documented retrospective appraisal answers the question cleanly.

Handled with care

These assignments almost always follow a loss, and they deserve to be handled that way. The work is the same rigorous valuation we apply to every file, carried out with discretion and without adding to a difficult time.

In practice. A West Vancouver estate required a date of death valuation to support probate and the final tax return, with several beneficiaries who all needed to accept the figure. We prepared a retrospective valuation on archived market evidence from the relevant period, documented clearly enough that any beneficiary or the CRA could follow how the number was reached. It was accepted by the beneficiaries and the CRA, closing that part of the estate without challenge.

Representative engagement. Names and details are fictitious and composited to protect client confidentiality, consistent with CUSPAP privacy requirements.

Key takeaways

• On death, property is generally valued at fair market value as of the date of death, unless a spousal rollover applies.
• That value sets the final return and the heirs’ future cost base.
• A retrospective appraisal reconstructs the market as it stood at the date of death.
• A documented value protects the executor, the estate, and the beneficiaries.

We prepare retrospective date of death valuations for executors and their advisors. Request a Consultation or read more on Estate & Probate Valuations.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Your lawyer or accountant will confirm how it applies to the estate.