http://www.charitablesolutionsllc.com/appraisal.html
http://www.thebreusgroup.com/
Obviously, my posting of these two websites in no way guarantees anything – donors and their attorneys need to make their own decisions. But, it is hard for me to believe that you will find a better appraiser for any charitable gift involving life insurance than these two. Beware – most appraisers of life insurance do their appraisals for estate tax purposes – with the opposite goal of reducing the value included in an estate or as a taxable gift. Also, these other appraisers may not be fully aware of the special rules for obtaining a charitable contributions. One of the best attorneys in the planned giving world has told me several times that he has never see a properly done qualified appraisal. That is not to say the gifts didn’t stand up to IRS scrutiny – they may very well substantially conform enough to win. But, any IRS involvement is bad for everyone involved – particularly the charity that steered the donor.
