Valuing personal chattels

The term personal chattels means all the personal belongings of the deceased person and will include jewellery, furniture, china, pictures, books, cameras, television, and cars (but not money, investments, property or business assets).

Items worth less than £500

You will not need to obtain professional valuations for individual ordinary household or personal items with a value of less than £500.

For these items an estimated open market value will suffice. The market value is defined by HM Revenue & Customs as a ‘realistic selling price’ and notes that this ‘may be lower than the insurance value.’

Items worth more than £500

For individual items worth in excess of £500, where there is publicly available data to value the item this can be used.

Items included in this category include furniture, pictures, paintings, china, TVs, audio and video equipment, cameras, jewellery, cars, caravans, boats, antiques and stamp collections.

For other items worth in excess of £500, a professional valuation will be required.

If the estate is likely to be worth less than £200,000

You can use an estimated valuation figure for items if the value of the estate is likely to be less than £200,000. They should be as accurate as possible.

Make a full inventory of the personal chattels

We suggest that you should complete a full inventory of the contents of the deceased person’s home. To ensure that all personal chattels are identified and properly accounted for, the inventory should be made with the help of all members of the immediate family.

Please note

Please note that information which we provide through Lasting Post is in outline for information or educational purposes only.  The information is not a substitute for the professional judgment of a solicitor, accountant or other professional adviser.  We cannot guarantee that information provided by Lasting Post will meet your individual needs, as this will very much depend on your individual circumstances. You should therefore use the information only as a starting point for your enquiries.