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Personal property appraisals in California for charitable donations, probate, trusts, and insurance scheduling, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises household contents, furniture, jewelry, fine art, and heirloom collections across California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, CALIFORNIA COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
California's auction and dealer markets, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco, mean comparable sales data is usually close at hand to support a well-documented report. Three of the assets below link to a page written for California; the rest link to the appraisers who cover them nationwide.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsA few recent California files, reduced to what the work was. Who the clients are and what the property was worth stay private.
Charitable donation
Cabinets, granite counters, and appliances pulled out in a remodel, valued at what they bring used.
Probate
Valued for the estate against sales of comparable bronzes of the same subject, size, and finish.
Insurance scheduling
Each piece valued at replacement cost, including a pearl strand that had never been appraised.
Whatever brings the property to us, AppraiseItNow values it at the standard the filing or policy asks for: fair market value for a donation or an estate, replacement value for an insurer.
Charitable donations
The IRS allows a deduction for donated clothing and household items only in good used condition or better, and anything claimed above $5,000 needs a qualified appraisal with Form 8283. We value what was given as it was given, at what it would sell for used.
Estates and trusts
For a trustee, an executor, or heirs dividing a house, we value the pieces that carry the money individually (art, silver, jewelry, furniture by known makers) and group the rest by room or category, at a depth agreed before we start.
Insurance scheduling
Scheduling valuables calls for replacement value, and older appraisals drift as gold, diamond, and silver prices move, so we update existing appraisals as well as write new ones.
Two California rules decide who may appraise an estate's personal property and whether it has to pass through probate at all.
Probate
§ 8904
California Probate Code
Most noncash assets in a California probate are appraised by the court's probate referee. Unique, artistic, unusual, or special items of tangible personal property are the exception: the personal representative can mark them on the inventory for an independent expert qualified to value them, and the referee then has five days to ask the court to reject the designation. Bronzes, paintings, silver, and collections are the items we take on under that rule.
Small estates
$208,850
for deaths on or after April 1, 2025
When the gross value of a decedent's California property that would otherwise pass through probate is $208,850 or less, heirs can collect the personal property with a small estate affidavit once 40 days have passed since the death. Whether an estate falls under that line depends on what its furniture, jewelry, art, and vehicles are worth, so the appraisal is the first step.
What California clients say we are known for
Across 24 published California appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how fast the finished report arrived.
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I contacted AppraiseItNow on a weekend asking for an expedited appraisal needed the following Tuesday, sent pictures as requested and answered a few questions for their team. Not only did the appraisal arrive on Tuesday, Joe waived the expedited fee! I would definitely recommend his services.
Antique Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Claim
It is a pleasure to work with Joe and his team. They communicate every step along the way and made the process simple for us to have more than 35 firearms appraised. It was all done in a timely manner and the final report is easy to understand. I highly recommend their services.
Gun Appraisal for Probate
I was skeptical at first, but the company exceeded all of my expectations. The team responded quickly to every question, and the service was excellent. They’re now my go to source for my collection. I’ve used them twice already, and I plan to use them several more times.
Firearms Appraisal for Personal Use
AppraiseItNow's service was expeditious and professional. The report was thorough with plenty of examples and rationale for the valuations. Good service comes at a cost, but for me it was well worth it. Highly recommended!
Personal Property Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
I’d have given them 10 stars if it were possible. After weeks of frustration awaiting four different appraisers to return my calls I stumbled across AppraiseItNow. They were quick to reply, incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, professional and managed to make it fairly simple. I highly recommend them!
Furniture Appraisal for Charitable Donation
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
No. Insurance appraisals use replacement cost with current retail pricing, while IRS and estate work requires fair market value, a different definition with different methods and data sources. Using one where the other is required is a common and costly mistake, so tell us the intended use up front and we will apply the correct standard.
The decedent's date of death, which makes the appraisal retrospective. Appraisal standards require the effective date to match the legal event, whether that is a date of death, date of gift, or date of loss, and misaligning it is a frequent error that undermines otherwise sound reports.
Four months after letters are first issued to the personal representative. If additional personal property is discovered later, a supplemental Inventory and Appraisal must be filed within four months of learning of it. Our valuations give the estate documented fair market values to support both filings.
No. California has no state estate or inheritance tax, so only the federal estate tax can apply to a California decedent's personal property. Estates that approach the federal threshold still need defensible date-of-death values for household contents, collections, and other tangible assets.