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Personal property appraisals in Minnesota for donations, estate tax, divorce, and probate, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises antiques, jewelry, collectibles, furniture, and fine art across Minnesota, including Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Duluth.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, MINNESOTA COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
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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 standardsAppraiseItNow appraises furniture, firearms, silver, books and whole households in Minnesota for probate, charitable deductions, insurance claims and divorce. Photographs, receipts and whatever paperwork survives open most files, and every figure is drawn from completed sales of comparable property rather than from what the property cost when it was new. Where a household is large, the work is grouped by category so that the report can be read straight against the filing it supports.
Probate
An inventory wants values as of the date of death, and that is the day the report is written to, with the sales behind each line kept where an heir or an examiner can be shown them.
Charitable deductions
What a donated item is worth is what a buyer of used goods would pay for it on the day it was given away, which is rarely what it cost new. Fabric, tools, books and furniture each have such a market, and none of them is the retail shelf.
Claims
A claim asks either what replacing the property costs today or what it was worth the moment before the loss. Policies differ on which of those they pay, so the report names the question it answers before the work begins.
Three Minnesota assignments, stripped back to a city, an item and the standard of value used. Nothing that could identify an owner is here, and the concluded figures stay in the reports.
Estate planning
An antique military rifle converted long ago to a single barrel shotgun, carrying no paperwork at all, valued for a family putting an estate in order.
Insurance claim
An enclosed cargo trailer damaged and claimed on a policy, valued for what it was worth immediately before the damage.
Charitable donation
Bolts and cut lengths of quality quilting cotton inherited from a relative and given away, valued as a charitable gift.
Three Minnesota rules turn household property into numbers: one caps what a surviving spouse may take, one prices sentiment out of a family argument, and one decides whether an estate is opened at all.
Exempt property
$15,000
of furniture and personal effects, plus one car of any value
On top of the homestead and the family allowance, a surviving spouse may take household furniture, furnishings, appliances and personal effects worth up to $15,000 above any security interests against them, together with one automobile whatever it is worth. Where the estate does not hold that much, other personal property makes up the difference. Children take the same rights where there is no surviving spouse. The ceiling is stated in value rather than in objects, so the selection is a valuation exercise before it is anything else.
Sentimental value
30 days
for a child to petition for a piece with sentimental value
When the allowance selection is made, whoever makes it must serve a written notice listing the property selected on every eligible child of the decedent, and that child then has thirty days from receiving it to petition the court for a piece that carries sentimental value. If the court awards the object, it appoints an appraiser, and the amount is the appraised value as of the date of death without reference to what the piece means to anyone. The child pays that amount into the estate or has it deducted from their share.
Small estates
$75,000
of probate estate collects on an affidavit instead
Thirty days after a death, anyone holding the decedent's tangible personal property must hand it over to a successor who presents a certified death record and an affidavit stating that the entire probate estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, was worth no more than $75,000 as of the date of death, and that no personal representative has been appointed. What the contents of a house are worth is part of that arithmetic, which is how a household inventory decides whether a family files anything at all.
What Minnesota clients say we are known for
Across 23 published Minnesota 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 much research is visible in the report, and how quickly we answer.
The estate appraisal for our car and rugs was handled quickly and efficiently. The process was smooth and hassle-free.
Personal Property Appraisal for Estate Tax
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 used AppraiseItNow for the first time last month and I was extremely pleased with the results. I needed an appraisal done for insurance purposes and the level of detail about each of my antique furniture pieces was thorough and very helpful in my being able to get the highest amount possible from my insurance company for the antique items that were damaged. I could see that they spent time making sure that the information she included was correct and current for my antique furniture items in the current market. The team responded to my emails timely to answer any questions I had. I would highly recommend Appraise It Now to get a thorough and professional appraisal done on antique items. I do intend to use them again for other antique furniture and jewelry that I have. Job well done! 😃🤗
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
Joe made the process to have my piece of furniture appraised extremely easy, efficient and quick. My experience was great and I'd recommend AppraiseItNow to anyone looking for an appraisal.
Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
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:
Designer and brand, condition, rarity and age, fabric and craftsmanship, provenance, and current resale demand. Vintage couture and historically significant pieces can carry substantial value, while ordinary retail clothing depreciates steeply, and the appraisal distinguishes the two with market evidence rather than retail price tags.
Fair market value for tax, estate, and donation purposes; replacement value for insurance scheduling; actual cash value where a policy applies depreciation. The same garments produce different numbers under each standard, so the report has to state the definition it uses and match it to the purpose.
No. Minnesota's appraiser licensing law, chapter 82B, covers real property appraisers only, so clothing and other personal property appraisals are not state-licensed work. Courts and the IRS instead look for recognized professional standards and documented methodology.
Yes. Minn. Stat. 524.3-706 requires the personal representative to inventory all property the decedent owned at fair market value as of the date of death, within six months of appointment or nine months after death, and the statute does not exclude clothing. Ordinary garments are commonly grouped, but couture, vintage, and collectible pieces deserve line-item values.
No. Most personal property in Minnesota is exempt from ad valorem property tax under Minn. Stat. 272.02, so household clothing is not assessed by county assessors. Taxable personal property is limited to enumerated categories such as certain utility and business equipment, which is why clothing appraisals in Minnesota serve estates, insurance, donations, and disputes instead of tax rolls.
