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Salt Lake City Estate & Probate

Salt Lake City estate appraiser — retrospective valuations for probate, Form 706, and step-up basis

Independent, non-AMC estate appraisals in Salt Lake City. Retrospective methodology under USPAP, deposition-ready reports for Utah district court, delivered in 5-7 business days.

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Dan Miner · Certified Residential Appraiser · Utah Lic. 10948175‑CR00

Most Salt Lake City executors — and a startling number of attorneys — treat the date-of-death appraisal as paperwork. It isn't. The number on the estate inventory is the number a Utah probate judge starts from, the number the IRS accepts or contests on Form 706, and the number every heir's tax basis depends on for years afterward.

That number needs to be signed by an appraiser who can defend it. Not an AMC-brokered lender appraisal repurposed for estate use, and not a Zillow estimate rounded to the nearest thousand.

Estate appraisal work in Salt Lake City is what Miner Appraisals does. Direct engagement with the executor or estate attorney, USPAP-compliant retrospective methodology, and reports delivered in 5-7 business days from inspection.

Salt Lake City market context

Salt Lake City's residential real estate market has genuine complexity for estate work. The valuation swing between an East Bench brick colonial and a Sugar House bungalow is meaningful, and the comp sets rarely overlap. The Avenues and Federal Heights carry an old-Salt-Lake premium that pure sales-comparison alone doesn't capture. The industrial-adjacent neighborhoods on the west side move on different fundamentals than the foothill neighborhoods. And the 2020-2023 appreciation cycle left many older homes worth 60-90% more than their basis — which is exactly the situation IRS § 1014 step-up documentation is designed to address.

What Salt Lake City estate & probate appraisals specifically involve

For an estate appraisal in Salt Lake City, the retrospective effective date is usually the date of death, occasionally the alternate valuation date six months later under IRC § 2032. The report must reflect market conditions as of that historical date — which requires the appraiser to pull historical MLS data, adjust for market-condition shifts, and select comparables that transacted within the appropriate window. Doing this correctly on a 2019 or 2020 date-of-death for a house that has since appreciated 40% is where cheaper appraisers cut corners and expose the estate to IRS challenge.

Salt Lake City coverage — neighborhoods and submarkets

Salt Lake City coverage regularly includes: The Avenues, Federal Heights, East Bench, Sugar House, 9th & 9th, Rose Park, Yalecrest, Millcreek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights. Each has its own comp set and its own market character; the report reflects the specific submarket the subject property lives in.

Fee and turnaround

Fee range: $500-800 for a standard single-family home. Standard SFH; higher for luxury (>$1.5M East Bench), historic Avenues, or unusually complex retrospective (10+ year effective date).

Turnaround: 5-7 business days from inspection to signed report. Rush available at additional surcharge for court-deadline or IRS-filing pressure. Fee due at inspection; engagement letter delivered before the conflict check clears.

Frequently asked

For a standard single-family home on the Salt Lake benches or valley floor, $500-800 with retrospective methodology. Larger East Bench estates, historic Avenues properties, or retrospective dates 10+ years old run higher — typically $700-1,000. Fee is due at inspection, and covers report delivery in 5-7 business days from inspection. The engagement letter goes out before the conflict check clears, so there are no fee surprises.
Standard turnaround is 5-7 business days from inspection to signed report. Utah Code 75-3-706 gives the personal representative three months from appointment to file the inventory, so most Salt Lake City executors have time to sequence the appraisal into month one or two of the appointment. Rush turnaround (3-5 days) is available with a modest surcharge for cases where a court deadline or IRS filing is imminent.
Utah Code 75-3-706 requires the personal representative to file an inventory listing property values, and the executor can technically use a good-faith estimate for ordinary household contents. Real estate is different. A defensible date-of-death value for the house should be a formal USPAP retrospective appraisal, especially if (a) the estate must file federal Form 706, (b) heirs will sell the property and need documented step-up basis under IRC § 1014, or (c) there is any contested distribution among heirs. For a Salt Lake City house that has appreciated meaningfully since the parent purchased it, the appraisal saves the heirs five-figure tax liability on eventual sale.
Yes — a single USPAP-compliant retrospective appraisal with an effective date of the date of death satisfies both Utah probate court's inventory requirement (Utah Code 75-3-706) and the IRS's qualified appraiser standard for Schedule A of Form 706 under Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-17. The report goes to the estate attorney for the probate filing and to the CPA for the 706 return. Same document, two uses.

Related reading

The service side of this work: Estate & probate appraisal service page. For the Salt Lake County coverage overview: Salt Lake County coverage details. Related field notes:

Miner Appraisals is an independent, non-AMC residential appraisal practice in Utah — owner-operated by Dan Miner, Utah Certified Residential Appraiser (Lic. 10948175-CR00). Direct engagement, signed reports, USPAP-compliant. See the estate & probate service hub, the Salt Lake County coverage page, or the full service catalog. Practicing since 2017.