A date-of-death value is a supportable opinion of fair market value on one specific past date — the day the owner died. It feeds the estate inventory under D.C. Code § 20–711 and, separately, the heirs' cost basis.
Three numbers, three jobs
| Number | As of when | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Date-of-death value | The day the owner died | Estate inventory under § 20–711; generally the stepped-up cost basis |
| Current market value | Today | Pricing and the decision to sell |
| OTR assessed value | The District's assessment cycle | Property tax — and little else |
Why the number matters more than people expect
For the inventory. Under § 20–711 the personal representative generally files a verified inventory within three months of appointment, giving each item's fair market value as of the date of death, along with any encumbrances. A figure with nothing behind it is a weak spot in an estate that anyone can question later.
For the heirs' taxes. Inherited property generally receives a stepped-up basis to its date-of-death value. In plain terms: if the house was worth $700,000 on the date of death and sells for $710,000, the taxable gain is measured from $700,000 — not from what the decedent paid for it in 1974. An understated date-of-death value can therefore create a tax bill the family never needed to have.
How that applies to any particular estate is a question for a CPA or tax attorney, and we do not answer it. What we provide is a defensible number and the evidence behind it.
How a date-of-death value is actually built
It is retrospective work, not a guess. Done properly it involves:
- Comparable sales from around that date, not today's — with attention to what the DC market was doing in that specific window, which in recent years has moved a great deal in short periods.
- Condition as of that date, reconstructed from photographs, insurance records, permits and family recollection. A house cleared out and painted afterwards was not in that condition on the date of death.
- Encumbrances — mortgages, liens, unpaid taxes, tenancies.
- Neighbourhood specifics. DC values shift block to block; a comparable four blocks away can be a different market entirely.
- Written reasoning, so that anyone reviewing it later can follow how the number was reached.
Do you need a licensed appraiser instead?
Sometimes, and we will tell you when. A broker's written opinion of value is appropriate and commonly used for many estates. A formal appraisal from a licensed appraiser is worth the cost when:
- The estate is large enough that a federal or DC estate tax return is in play.
- Heirs are in conflict, or litigation is plausible.
- The property is unusual and comparables are genuinely scarce.
- The estate's attorney or CPA asks for one — which settles it.
We have no financial interest in that choice. If an appraisal is the right call, we will say so and can point you to appraisers who do retrospective DC work.
Getting one
Send us the address and the date of death. We prepare the written opinion at no cost and with no listing agreement, because in a meaningful share of cases the family is not selling at all and simply needs a number for the inventory. If you do sell later, we would like the chance to compete for it — but that is a separate conversation and not a condition.
If you also want today's value, we provide both in the same document, so you can see the difference the market and the condition have made.
Sources: D.C. Code Title 20 (Probate); D.C. Law 25-302, the Strengthening Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024; the Office of the Register of Wills, D.C. Superior Court Probate Division (dccourts.gov); and the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer on deed transfer tax and real property tax classes (cfo.dc.gov). Rates and rules change and individual cases vary — confirm anything that affects a decision with the Register of Wills, OTR, or your own attorney or CPA.