Appraisals, Inventories & Consulting

Appraisals

An appraisal is a detailed description of an item together with the appraiser's estimate of that item's value. The same item will have different values for different purposes or uses. The description may include, as appropriate, object dimensions, condition, provenance (origins and prior ownership), special notes. AAA Appraisals also include the location of the object in the premises being appraised, the name of the appraiser who valued the item, and a unique identifying number.

For example, a silver ladle of a particular pattern may have one value as a charitable donation and a different value for sale or for scheduling insurance. Appraisals are made when estates must be settled and distributed, when an equitable distribution of property is to be made to complete a divorce settlement, etc.

Inventories

Inventories contain much the same degree of detail as appraisals but do not require the appraiser's estimate of value. Some inventories may be made as part of a disaster recovery operation; in such cases they may include additional data on the location of the item after its removal from its original premises, the source of the graphic image of the item, and an inventory may include estimates of costs for cleaning, storing or restoring the item.

Consultation