Discover how a professional quilt appraisal can reveal the true value of your item or collection.
A professional quilt appraisal can accurately determine a quilt’s age, authenticity, condition, history, resale value, and insurance value, giving you confidence in your decisions and peace of mind.
Here are ten reasons to consider a professional appraisal:
1. Insurance Coverage. Many homeowner’s policies limit or exclude collectibles like quilts. A professional appraisal ensures you know the true value and helps you secure proper coverage, protecting your valuable vintage quilt.
2. Estate Planning. Proper and thorough estate planning involves documenting and appraising valuable items (including quilts) when preparing a will, trust, or estate plan.
3. Inheritance Distribution When it comes to inheritance and the division of assets, a professional appraisal can help reduce disagreements or issues when disbursing or dividing assets. Some quilts can be worth many thousands of dollars. Presenting this information to beneficiaries is a critical aspect of creating a will, a trust, or a bequest.
4. Selling an Item. If the executors of the will or estate, or the heirs, decide to sell the item (quilt) at auction, to a dealer, or by private sale, an appraisal goes a long way toward establishing the sale or market price.
5. Donation Tax Deductions. In some cases, the recipient or recipients of an item may decide to donate it to a museum, historical society, or another charitable organization, and earn a tax deduction. An accurate, professional appraisal helps establish the value of the donated item (a quilt) and supports the tax deduction.
6. Curiosity About Value. This is one of the most frequent reasons someone might order an appraisal. With places like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace, it may have become a little easier to establish a price range. Still, for more accurate values, a professional quilt appraiser can go beyond the obvious and provide more information.
7. Historical Documentation. A proper, accurate quilt appraisal requires the consideration of a lot of factors–items’ age, materials used, maker, historical significance, and condition. Also, a quilting appraiser has more insight into a quilt’s history, the techniques used to create it, and its current value.
8. Divorce or Legal Proceeding. In divorces, asset division, disbursements, or other legal disputes, the courts may require and consider professional appraisals when ruling on such matters or dividing assets. Having a professional appraisal can expedite and aid in this process.
9. Preservation and Restoration Decisions. Knowing an item’s value, let’s say a vintage quilt, helps the client determine the next steps in the quilt’s future. Do you conserve and preserve the item, donate it, or sell it? Does the quilt need repairs? Is it worth repairing or conserving? Knowing the right questions and their correct answers goes a long way toward guiding these decisions.
Documenting heirlooms (quilts) through professional appraisal empowers your family to understand and preserve your quilt’s significance and history for future generations.
Let me help you determine your quilt’s age, historical significance, and value.
A professional quilt appraisal helps a family or the person who inherits it document and determine both the actual value and any historical value. Whether you decide to sell it, donate it, or keep it, I can help you make a more informed decision.
I am Kristen Edens of Creating Quilts. I love quilting, and I know how to help you obtain a professional appraisal and guide your decisions to sell, keep, or donate. Moreover, as a quilt surgeon, I can help you determine what needs repair and how to preserve it for generations to come.
