This post is a follow-up to my previous post on a sticky life insurance situation.  I wanted to let anyone who reads that post to know that there are two specialist appraisers who can help you and/or your donor obtain a qualified appraisal in these situations.  One of the following two I completely trust because I know he is an honest guy who runs an honest business – and the honest guy vouched for the other guy who offers the same service.  Here are their websites:

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.