Technical article

The First 30 Days: List, Photograph, Value

So a room can become a page, and a drawer of small things can become a line.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture an executor in a house with about four hundred objects: china, coins, jewelry, tools, books, a few paintings. One person has to make a list. Where do you start?

The US Treasury regulation on household and personal effects gives a plain answer. It describes room-by-room itemizing as desirable. Each article gets its own value. Items in one room, none worth more than US$100, may be grouped. So a room can become a page, and a drawer of small things can become a line.

What each country asks for

The regulation sets the test for value as the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller. For articles of marked artistic or intrinsic value, with a total above US$3,000, an expert's sworn appraisal is filed with the estate tax return. Examples named are jewelry, paintings, antiques, and coin or stamp collections. Form 706 is due nine months after death, with a six-month automatic extension on Form 4768. The estate may elect to value everything six months after death, but only if that lowers both the gross estate and the tax.

In the UK, HM Revenue and Customs form IHT407 asks for each jewelry item of GBP 1,500 (approximately US$1,950) or more. It asks for vehicles, boats and aircraft, and for each antique, work of art or collection, with open market value at death. Other household goods go in as one total, with a copy of the insurance schedule if any item was individually listed. A professional valuation is enclosed if one exists.

Market value, not insurance value

HM Revenue and Customs says the test is the price the property might reasonably fetch on the open market. Insurance replacement values may not meet it. After an auction sale, it treats the gross hammer price as the main evidence, with no buyer's premium added and no commission taken off. A Canadian law clerk makes the same point. Appraisals often reflect replacement value, which is usually above what the estate would fetch.

Keys, boxes, units and accounts

In California, a person with a key may open a decedent's sole-name bank box under supervision before letters issue. The purpose is limited to taking an inventory, copying wills and trusts, and finding funeral instructions. Someone with no key needs letters first. That is one California law firm's page, and other states differ. Storage unit charges often show on statements, according to two New York trust officers.

For crypto, a November 2025 guide says a court order does not help if the private keys cannot be found. It says the law gives access to digital information but does not move the asset. It gives an example where bitcoin bought for US$5,000 and worth US$100,000 at death carries a US$100,000 basis.

For the heirs, basis is generally the market value at the date of death.

The objection

You might say that a list of four hundred things is a month's work, and the month is already full. That may be true. A photograph of each room, a line per shelf and a name beside each item that matters is a start. A forum collector suggests tagging each item with a written description and keeping accessories and papers with it. The regulation lets small things travel in a group.

Who this touches

The executor, who signs a statement that the list is complete. The heirs, who may later ask what was there. The appraiser, who needs something to look at. And the tax office, which asks for a value on a date.