More Than Meets the Eye: Valuing High-End Property in Divorce with Kelly Knoll, ISA CAPP

People don’t usually think they’re going to “lose it” over a lamp, a ring, or a set of dishes, until divorce turns personal property into a power struggle. We sit down with Kelly Knoll of Heritage Appraisals to get brutally clear about what household items, jewelry, art, antiques, and collectibles are actually worth, and when they are not worth the fight.

We talk about practical steps you can take early, like setting a value threshold, documenting portable items, saving receipts and certificates of authenticity, and understanding when photos are enough versus when an in-person inspection is needed.

Then we zoom out to trends shaping valuations right now, including softer demand for many traditional antiques, continued strength in modern and mid-century aesthetics, the market shock to natural diamond prices from lab-grown diamonds, and why more buyers are shifting toward colored gemstones. We even touch on designer handbags and how scarcity and brand discipline can make or break resale value.

If you’re negotiating a divorce settlement or trying to protect your financial future, this conversation helps you stop guessing and start making clean, defensible decisions. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

• To schedule a complementary consultation with Kelly Knolll for your persona property questions in divorce, CLICK HERE

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Transcript

Welcome And What “Rich” Means

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Welcome to the Divorce Rich Podcast. I'm your host, Jackie Ressler, and I've been a certified divorce financial analyst for 28 years, helping clients and their attorneys navigate the financial issues in divorce. If you are in the process of or considering divorce, now is the time for you to take a deep breath and give yourself permission to find clarity on the financial decisions that you're facing. The definition of rich is many fold. The best definition that I found is someone who has access to many resources. Along with my guest on this podcast, I am going to make sure that you have access to all the resources you need to make good decisions for yourself.

Sponsor Center For Financial Planning

SPEAKER_02 0:57

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SPEAKER_00 2:01

Live your plan. Disclosure. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning Inc. is not a registered broker dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Center for Financial Planning was a sponsor of the Divorce Rich Podcast. The Center for Financial Planning and Raymond James are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Divorce Rich Podcast.

Why Personal Property Derails Divorce

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Divorce Rich Podcast. This is Jackie Russler, and it's part of the divorce for everyone that I see on every every single case. People have to figure out what's going to happen with their property. And that doesn't always mean just the house, retirement accounts, investment accounts. It often means what are the things inside of the home that are personal property that people are either leaving on the table, mistakenly, or fighting over when it's really not worth it to fight over. So today I'm talking with Kelly Knoll of Heritage Appraisals in Troy about personal property and what it's really worth and when it's worth arguing about and how to handle it. So welcome, Kelly. Hello. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thank you so much for joining us.

Meet The Appraiser And Credentials

SPEAKER_02 3:28

Tell our listeners a little bit about your background and your certification and how you're differentiated from other types of appraisers.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

Sure, sure. So um I own, like Jackie had stated, I own Heritage Appraisals. We're based in Troy, right there on um by the Somerset Mall area. And we've been doing this for about 20 years, a little over 20 years now. But basically, um a little bit of my history is I went to school for art history and I'm a gemologist, and I had actually ran a gallery for about nine years total. But during that process, we were getting an incredible amount of calls for formal appraisals, certified appraisals, things like that. And back then, at that time, there was literally nobody in Michigan doing the higher ends. You could, you know, yeah, it was really, I was just over and over. I'm like, what is this field? I have to find out more about this field. So I ended up um getting in touch because we were referring everybody down to a gal in Chicago at the time who was part of our organization, which is the International Society of Appraisers, ISA. And there are multiple organizations, but that's one of the larger ones. And I said, What did you do? And she goes, Well, you have to go back to school again, and you have to get your accreditations and credentials through one of these three main organizations, so on and so forth. So I decided to pursue that. And at first I thought it was just gonna be fun money, holiday money, a little bit of extra on the side. I never expected it to really take off. And so it took me about two years, three years, give or take, I don't remember now, to go through all of that. And I started off as an accredited member. Um, and now I'm certified, and I'll get into that. There's some differences there. But really, right off the bat, it just we we're just getting flooded with calls. So I think a lot of it is there's different types of appraisers for different types of specialty. So just like physicians and lawyers, everybody kind of has their, you know, area of expertise and what you obviously want to focus on. And one of our big things here, and I have a small staff as well, but um, specifically myself, um, is I am a little bit more versed where I do high-end fine art, decorative art, jewelry of all, you know, specifications, estate jewelry, modern jewelry, custom jewelry, some fashion jewelry. Um, and we also do antiques and an array of things like that. And then, you know, my colleagues do silver chat collectibles. So pretty much we check off a lot of boxes for a lot of projects. You know, a client that has art has jewelry, they have antiques, they have all of that versus, you know, just some appraisers just do sports memorabilia. So, you know, I couldn't tell you anything about that. But, you know, so we we tend to um get some larger projects and we tend to get projects based on multiple functions, like in this case a divorce. Uh, I was just telling Jackie that we do a lot for a state will trust because that's coming in and doing all of the major assets. Um, we do a lot of insurance, a lot of IRS charitable contributions, tax things, all of that. So that's yeah, that's where we kind of stand is that sets us a little bit apart in what we offer. And then um, like I to backtrack what I was saying is we're also certified members, which is the highest accreditation in the industry. And we do not buy sell deal. And that's a big one in regard to there's no problem with appraisers that let's say appraise and have an auction house. That's very acceptable. Um, and you can wear two hats very easily, but a lot of times clients that let's say have really high-end items and they're looking to sell, they want that unbiased third-party appraiser that has no vested interest in these items, or you know, know that there's no conflicts of interest on different situations.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

So it does seem like it would yeah, it would be problematic to get an appraisal, especially I think for a divorce case, if you were also going to turn around and sell that property for that spouse.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Exactly. Yep, exactly.

Unbiased Appraisals And One Expert

SPEAKER_03 7:34

So, and and kind of go and uh and you know, I might touch base on this later, but a lot of times, you know, when you're in a uh divorce situation, the parties think they have to get different appraisers. But if it is an amicable situation or cordial situation to save money, you can have one appraiser. And again, because we're unbiased when we don't party and we have to prove on paper what this piece is and why it's valued as such, you know, it might simplify the whole process there from the get-go and just keep it inexpensive for everybody involved.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

I love that you explained what personal property was too, that we're talking about things like artwork, jewelry, collectibles. Um, is there anything that I'm missing from that list of that would be a good idea? Not really.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

Um pretty much personal property is everything but the the home or the building. So you have real estate appraisers or real property appraisers are called, and then you have personal property. So personal property, like I said, we do a lot, but there's a lot we don't do. So personal property is actually a bit more fickle because if you do have really specialized collections or are items that, you know, not every appraiser can do everything, obviously. You have to be very cool in your field. Um, like Oriental rugs. I couldn't tell you anything about them, but I have a gal that I could refer you to, and that's all she does. Her entire career is based on Oriental rugs. And so, yes, the the pr pretty much everything outside of the home or business or you know facility is is considered personal property, um movable or sometimes built in.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

So when you're working with clients who've gotten divorced, or even just from your own personal experience, what kind of mistakes do you think people make when they are dividing up their personal property?

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Yep.

Insurance Value Versus Fair Market Value

SPEAKER_03 9:15

So that's a great question. So probably the biggest one is going off old appraisals that were maybe done for insurance. Um, most people that do have assets that are going to call for an appraisal at a time of a divorce, they've had them appraised for insurance. And insurance is completely different. Insurance appraisals are always, always quite heightened. And and we're a bit more conservative now than we used to be. Okay. Yeah. And the re the reason being is I explained this to the clients. They call the day and they need an insurance report. I say, that's absolutely fabulous. I can do that for you, but just know you cannot turn around and sell it for that tomorrow. So in a divorce, you want fair market value. In Michigan and most states, it's fair market value, which is what uh a knowledgeable seller and a knowledgeable buyer would, you know, work out between the two, uh, under, you know, known distress kind of a thing, versus insurance value is if heaven forbid my home burned down in five years and I had to go and replace this very rare item with something identical or very similar, and I had to pay designer fees and shipping insurance, all of that. That's uh it's considered cushion or inflation on the current value. But most importantly, it's that the standard insurance policy is good for five to ten years. So we have to take into account that in five years this is gonna happen or 10 years. So you add a lot of of cushion onto that current value to offset that so you know that client's not going to be underinsured in the near future. Now we do are, like I said, more conservative because it used to be I look at old reports, and you know, I hate to say it, they were 3.5 times more, you know, and that was just way too much because of premiums nowadays, people are paying much higher premiums. But yeah, so I always say to, you know, when in a divorce situation, don't rely on those old reports because, or even if it was done two weeks prior, if it's an insurance report, that's a different function and a different value. So what a a couple would want in an um divorce would be fair market value, which is if this went up for sale today in an open market regionally or nationally, what would I probably get for it? And that's the value that you want to work with at that point. Um, as you know, somebody might have to buy the third one out. Um, if you buy them out in insurance value, you're paying a lot more for it.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

That is absolutely mind-blowing to me, Kelly. I I have been doing this for 30 years, and I think it's very common to use an insurance appraisal. In fact, we're lucky if we have an insurance appraisal.

SPEAKER_03 11:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:55

Um, in a case. So that is, I mean, if I think about clients that might have overpaid for an asset, that's a little scary. Um so this brings me to my next question. When should somebody consider getting their personal property appraised versus do I just go with what we have in an insurance appraisal?

When An Appraisal Is Worth It

SPEAKER_03 12:14

Right. So I would say most people know kind of what they have. They at least have a somewhat sense. Um, so if if you're if I I guess my my answer is is try to get a hold of an appraiser as soon as possible just to get a consultation because we don't charge for just a general consult uh consultation over the phone to start. And it it's these are questions that you could say, this is what I have. Do you think we need you? These are our assets that we paid for 20 years ago. Is this still kind of current? And we'll be able to guide a client better. But typically it's anything that is substantial enough that you think there's going to be an argument about, or you know, uh somebody, and I kind of wanted to backtrack again to your last question, is is some of the mistakes is some people have sentimental value to an item, but that doesn't make it monetarily valuable. And then there's the old thing of, well, I inherited this. This is is outside the marital property, and we might fight about it, but this is, you know, grandma told me this was worth a lot of money. Well, what was grandma's version of a lot of money in 1950? And is that item as valuable today as it was even 10 years ago? Fashion has changed, uh, taste change, market changes. So something that is very heavy carved wood and all of that is not nearly as desirable today as a clean modern retro piece necessarily. So um that that's when I would say call an appraiser, get some opinions on what you have, but you want to also be very um knowledgeable on when to say, okay, if it's under a certain amount, don't worry about it. You know, something that's over a thousand dollars or three thousand or five thousand, excuse me. Everybody, I tell clients, give me your um kind of value threshold of what you'd like to stay above and everything else you can work out amongst yourself because it's not, you know, super, super high value because you don't want to spend more on an appraiser. It's not moral or ethical on my standpoint, unless I'm forced to do it, to even offer that service if it can be worked out between the two um before it comes in. So usually I'm brought in when it's the high-end items, and that could be everybody's has their different version of high end, but typically a thousand per item or more is standard practice.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

That's a good range. Um, if someone is thinking about divorce and they are they're they're planning that they might be filing soon or they feel like there's a divorce on the horizon, what kind of documentation should they gather if they do fall into this category? Let's say that they have antiques that they've purchased together or they have um collectible items that they've that have been purchased. A lot of times jewelry, um, anything in in Michigan that is gifted to someone could be claimed that as their separate property. But I've had cases where someone says, that was a gift. That was, you know, you bought me that, you know, $10,000 ring, and the other person says, that wasn't a gift, that was an investment. So even jewelry that is seen as a gift could still potentially become part of the marital estate and need to be apprised.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

What should they gather? Yeah. And actually, um going to the jewelry real quick, a big one is that I've heard in my situations is the husband gave, you know, gifted the wife the engagement ring, but it was actually his mother's ring. And then it gets into pre-barrier, you know, it was his and and it wasn't necessarily a gift to her. So so we do see a lot of that too. But yeah, so prenup.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

He needed a prenup.

SPEAKER_03 15:53

Yeah, exactly.

Documenting Items Before They Disappear

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Um, but yeah, so I would say, you know, here's the thing is is the more the merrier. I tell clients, if if possible, document and photograph as much as you can, focus on the valuable items, focus on portable assets because things can go missing and disappear very quickly if they're movable. Doesn't happen a lot, but if it does, so if you have a photograph, hey, look at it, it existed and it was in the spot. Um, but mostly valuable items, um, signatures of the artists, serial numbers, limited edition numbers, you know, things that can prove what this piece is, receipts, uh Receipts, right? Yeah, receipts, certificates of authenticity, um, any prior appraisals, any paperwork is very, very important. Certificates.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

I think I said that, but um, you know, and then just doing a simple an auction if it was bought at auction, is an auction catalog worth saving or is it just evaluated by whatever price you paid?

SPEAKER_03 16:54

Right. So yeah, anything at auction, I mean, you could probably always get those records later because most public auctions are, they do maintain records of that and it's all online now. Um, but if it's a small obscure auction, it probably isn't. So you do want to save receipts and paperwork from things like that because you just you can't rely on stuff not links going away and things like that. Um, but the thing that I I do want to caution is is when you do, when you're contemplating doing all of this and you're gathering all this information, you have to also be aware that if the other party is aware that you're doing this, it might really fuel the fire. So do it, but do it on the side or do it, make sure nothing gets really moved around too much. Um, and that's obviously when in doubt, ask your attorney because you don't want to get of course people on that front as well.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

But that's a good tip. Yeah. So do you then do we when you do an appraisal, do people have to bring the item in? Do you go to people's houses? Do that is a photograph enough to bring in to show you?

SPEAKER_03 17:54

Yep,

How On-Site Appraisals Work

SPEAKER_03 17:55

great question. Um, actually, I so we do have an office, like I said, in Troy. We use it typically for jewelry and one or two pieces of art, um, because it's very hard to move items unless they're small like jewelry. So 99% of the time we go to the client and we do many appraisals based on photography, but there's a lot of caveats with that. If I'm not 100% able to determine this is what it is, 110% based on a photo, then I will require to see it. Um, and even with that, sometimes it's just better if it's if it's not an inconvenience or that, you know, it's not four states away, then for me to come out does help just say, I saw it, I know it existed. I took my own photographs. I take much higher quality photos than most clients have capability to do. So some of the photos I get are not great, and I have to, they know I have to see it. But yeah, so I I go to the client. Um, the big thing is is we don't take possession of anything and we don't move anything unless we have to. So a lot of clients are much more comfortable with that. Where we're kind of a one-stop shop. We come to the client, we have our equipment for the artwork, we have our equipment for the jewelry, we set up a whole, you know, inspection table right there, and the client's right in front of us. So again, there's no question, oh, you know, she took it out of my sight. Did she change something? Did is this, is she doing something she shouldn't have, or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, which it's very doesn't really happen. People think this happens more often than not. Like they drop a ring off at a jewelry and the diamond gets changed. That really isn't a thing so much anymore. But um, it does help with a peace of mind to know that yes, we will come to you, we'll do everything on site, and we leave, and typically we don't need to go back. So if things start to need to be moved out of the home or be separated at that point, I don't need to see them again unless it's a really unique situation. That's fantastic.

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SPEAKER_01 19:50

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What Collectors Want In 2026

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Um you mentioned that there are certain things now that might be worth less than they would have been 10, 15 years ago, based on what current trends are. What are the current trends in collectibles and jewelry? And I mean, I is there anything that stands out to you? We're taping this in 2026. Yep. So yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:54

Um, so here's the thing, and I always say this if I had a magic eight ball and probably be retired and you wouldn't be in this business. Yes, right. But there are some very good indicators that every year we kind of see changes and and differences go on. But typically anything that, and I hate to say this because it breaks my heart. I get this call every day that, you know, all of these people either bought these items, you know, if they were married 60 years ago and they saved up every penny to buy this China set and Oriental rug and silver and these sorts of things, traditional heavy paintings and carved frames, they're gorgeous. The quality, I hate to say it is way better than things are made today, typically. Um, but people just aren't collecting those. They're not, they don't have the curio cabinets, they're not using it if they can't put it in a dishwasher. So those sorts of items are what we call soft. They're very soft. A lot of antiques, and I do see researchers coming back on that with mixing things, you know, with modern works, but those sorts of items have really gone down. What people are collecting. And then what the market is showing very popular and strong today and has been for a while is modern contemporary, which is, you know, mid-century items. Those artists like your Dolly, Picasso, Monroe, Frankenthaler, Rosenquest, all of those artists are have been strong and are going to continue to be strong. They're they appeal to a lot of the younger generations because they're abstracts or very uh retro fun, fun colors, but still classic and simple in design. So modern items, contemporary items, clean line items, light woods, um, all of that I would say in regard to fashionability is what's the current trend. But specifically in art, it is going back to those noted artists versus you can walk into a gallery today in New York and it's absolutely an amazing up-and-coming emerging artist, but it's a complete gamble on if that artist is still going to be popular in 30 years on how their market's going to go. So even if it's still modern, it doesn't necessarily make it a good, you know, investment long term. It's really kind of looking back at what has already happened and is continuing to move forward. Um, a big one, this is this this surprises a lot of people.

Diamond Prices Drop And Gemstones Rise

SPEAKER_03 23:16

Jewelry diamonds, natural diamonds, have fallen so dramatically with the research. Oh my gosh, yes. They're down, and I'm not going to give a percentage because it really depends on the diamond. But the problem is when the lab grown diamonds, which that's pretty much what almost everybody's buying today, when they first came out, oh, oh my gosh, yes. And then we'll get into what has gone to the gem market because of this. But the lab-grown diamonds came out, and I would say, man, give or take 15 years ago, but really became strong 10 years ago. And at that time, you know, De Beers, who owned the natural diamond mining industry and market, diamonds were never rare, but they were made rare because De Beers only let out so many in this size, so many in this color and clarity. So they limited it per year up. Is that right? Oh, yeah, yeah. So, you know, that it's so what happened with lab grown diamonds is there is no regulation. No, not one company owns them. They're owned by multiple companies and multiple facilities cutting. They're they're pumping them out. And I kind of hate to say it. I've called it the next CZ. Is over the past 10 years, they they came out 30% less than natural diamonds, so De Beers had to drop their price to be, you know, competitive. And then lab grown diamonds again were just more, I mean, so many were coming out that they just, oh, we can go a little bit cheaper. We open more facilities, we can go, and De Beers just kind of had to stop because they couldn't, the overhead with mining and all of that was um uh just way too much. But I mean, you can get a three-carat diamond, lab grown diamond right now for geez, seven hundred dollars, fifteen hundred dollars, depending. Yeah, it's crazy where that three carat diamond was thirty or forty thousand dollars before all of this happened, and now today it might be worth twelve thousand dollars or fifteen thousand dollars. I see so the demand has ri has come down, so the value has deflated. Because, you know, young people, a couple of things, you know, obviously money, money, money, everybody gets bigger and better for way less money, but a lot of them were kind of sold on the sustainability of of lab grown diamonds. And there's a very fine line there of that people don't realize the natural diamond market. That one mine employed five villages in Africa that have no other employment opportunities, no farming, no nothing. So suddenly now with the decrease of that, you know, those those natural diamonds, it's put a lot of people in and obviously heard a lot of things there. So there's some downfalls to this as well. But I see both sides. I don't think there's any right or wrong. But what has happened is the dealers in diamonds have really um, because they get such a big difference with wholesale versus selling on lab grown versus naturals, they've pretty much dumped their their natural diamond market, sold those stones whatever they could, and have really started focusing on gemstones because you can't colored stones? Yep, colored stones. So primarily we'll talk about rubies, emerald, sapphires, because those are the three most people know. There's many more, and there's all different calibers, but uh natural gemstones, you can't really reproduce those. There's lamb grown stones out there, but they're they're visually very different from a natural stone where diamonds they're they're not. Um, because every natural stone has inclusions almost no matter what, and unless it's a million-dollar stone. But when you try to reproduce that, it just doesn't look good. It doesn't look the same. So so as of right now, that's where the collector base and and and investment is going to hide in gemstones, non-heated stones, you know, non-treatment stones, and that's a whole nother conversation. But so that's been a huge shift in that um area as well. And that market is just it's completely blindsided, I think a lot of people, um, including myself. And I feel bad. A client will call me and say, Well, you appraised this 15 years ago for $40,000, and you're telling me today it's worth $20,000. And I said, It's nothing to do with your diamond. It's nothing to do with your diamond. It's still is just as beautiful as the day you bought it, and and but it's it's the market today. So again, that goes with antiques and all of that, is people just things shift so dramatically based on the fashions and and updates on on how things are made or produced, um, and and the rarity and things like that. Anyway, so yeah, so that's probably it. Um, designer pieces are always strong. It's one of those things you can have a Tiffany diamond and you you know, and you can have the exact same non-Tiffany diamond, and just because it has Tiffany attached to it, that's gonna be more valuable. So things like that, designer, uh, jewelry, designer, handbags, designer items yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

I was gonna that was the next question I was gonna ask you. First of all, that was that's fascinating about stones. What a great timely lesson to and investing in something and not having any control over outside things that you would not anticipate that are gonna decrease the value. That is really interesting.

Designer Bags And Scarcity Pricing

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Um as far as I have a lot of clients that have handbag collections, and we're not talking about small, you know, small handbag collections. Oh yeah. Are is that something that gets appraised? And are there trends as far as that goes as well?

SPEAKER_03 28:26

Yep. So I personally I we don't do handbags because I I wish I did. I would love to. It's just again, so much to know. And the the modern, um, it's kind of like Asian arts. The technology has gotten so good to make fakes that it's very, it's a very specialized field. So usually those sorts of things, those those um appraisers just do handbakes in in fashion, and they're very good at what they do. But yeah, so those are absolutely worth doing. The thing that kind of I find, and this is just general conversation with most people, is um the caliber of designer. So what was once very popular, and this might rub some people wrong, like your Louis Vuitton, that I when that first became very popular, it was a very prestigious thing to have. Well, now it's much more affordable and they make a lot more items. So the long-term investment value of those, there's always going to be certain pieces that were limited or something, but it depends on the designer. And some designers, just like what we talked about, can come and go in what's in fashion. They can overdo their market, oversaturate. And this goes with the same with artists, they just keep producing, producing, producing instead of keeping it limited, like Air Mez and having wait lists and having we only make so many of these per year, and you're lucky if you're gonna get one. And those are items where you buy the bag, you wait three years to get the bag. Same as Rolex, you have a wait list for three years on this watch or this bag, you get it, and immediately it's worth 40,000, like the Daytona watch. If you're willing to wait, you can get it very inexpensively. But if you want it tomorrow, you're going to pay way more than it's actually worth because of that rarity. So it's it's the designer bags and designer items are again, they're gonna do this, but it's gonna be your much higher end, and you're very known. Your your Cartier, Van Cleef Arpel's, your your Airmaz, the the big names that have had a great track record for a long, long time, versus some of these new ones that are coming out that may get big someday, but they may also oversaturate like Michael Coors did. I hate to say it, and you know, suddenly it's in every store in America. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Right. I have to admit on a personal note that I am obsessed with these videos that I've watched for the um there's a a resale store that pro posts videos for Air Maze bags, and I can't turn away from them. I just love watching it, and it's unbelievable to me how I mean some of these bags are $100,000 for the bags.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

Some of the this different skins, rare skins. Yeah, yeah. Right. And it is, and and just kind of it goes back to, and this goes with everything is the collector market and all of this as a big bubble is a collector market. Art, jewelry, antiques, bags, all of it is considered fine collectibles. To each his own, what I think is the most beautiful thing that I would spend $150,000 on. Somebody is just thrown for a loop and says, Oh, that's awful. I wouldn't spend $10 on it. Or how can you spend the money on like, you know, how can you carry around a Mercedes basically in your hand? So it's it's all perspective. And it cracks me up because, you know, that's what I will get is is people that are arguing, let's say, and they're like, This is this is a great investment piece, and blah, blah, blah. And I said, But that's your opinion. And I'm sure there's a whole bunch of people that agree with you, but then there's other people that say, that's silly. I want to buy an antique toy or an antique doll. And it's like, ugh, you know, okay. So we really it's all perspective, you know.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

Yes, absolutely. And it's so subjective too, in terms of absolutely. So a couple more questions.

Bring An Appraiser In Early

SPEAKER_02 32:10

When should someone bring, if someone's getting divorced, when should you be brought into the process?

SPEAKER_03 32:16

Um, so as soon as possible would be my it it here's the thing, and and I apologize if I already mentioned this, but um is a couple, if it's amicable, if there's very little issues going on in, you know, financially, it makes more sense. I I can come in and do an appraisal for both parties. So it's it's one appraisal, I'm unbiased, I'm proving on paper what this is, um nobody's fighting at that time, or if it is, it's it's outside of what we're doing. But it will save both of you the money of having two appraisals done and and going through all of that because no matter if whether if I do a report and another appraiser does a report, there's always going to be some variance. It's all professional opinion based on comparables and how we assess the market. Um, did I find it comparable somebody else didn't? So you will have differences there. And it's not something that you can say, well, this appraiser is right and that was wrong. You have to kind of look in and the fine prank on that. Yeah, but if you can agree to bring me in early and have it all done ahead of time, it's off your plate. And that's the last thing you need to worry about. And you can focus on the family aspects and the much more important I hate to say it, the things that you know are going to be with you forever, sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 33:31

I have had cases that really have gotten tripped up with the personal property. So many years ago, I had a case in Washington County where the couple were they were arguing over an antique lamp. The husband had taken the shade from the house and the wife had the base. And they they probably spent $35,000 in court in front of a judge arguing over the base and the shade of this lamp to the point that they probably could have just bought another one or even two for the amount of money and aggravation that they spent. Where in that that is another scenario to me where get an appraisal so that we're we're not actually spending so much more money on arguing about things that the judge isn't going to know how to value these items. The lawyers aren't going to know. So I think that an appraisal in many cases can save people a lot of money. Um I absolutely agree. One last question.

The Strangest Case Mourning Jewelry

SPEAKER_02 34:28

So give me a story of something unusual that you appraised once.

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Oh, well, I would say I've done a lot of unusual things. Um, but one situation, and and this is because it was a divorce, and this is what kind of threw me, is it was a jewelry collection, and and it was what we call mourning jewelry. And I don't but most people aren't familiar with it, but mourning back in the Victorian era, when your loved one, and that could be a child, a husband, a wife, oh mourning. Okay. Mourning, yes. Yeah, that's why people are like, what are you talking about? More so when they would pass, they would actually encase physical items of that person. So hair, fingernails, those sorts of things. Right. But it was a it's it's a huge collector base. It really is a huge collector base. And I had a couple fighting over this morning jewelry, and some of it was items from one side of the family, and the other spouse wanted it because it was more valuable, because there is quite a bit of value in a lot of that, depending on the quality. And the one spouse was saying, This is actual family items that were passed down through my family, and it and they were fighting over it, and that's that was probably the strangest. I see a lot of unique things, but that was probably the strangest because you know, just for me, I'm like, it's not again my cup of tea, but you know, that that piece of that locket with full of the hair is could be five thousand dollars, and you know, and maybe one person wanted to sell it and the other one wanted to keep it. That's that was exactly what was going on, and it added up. It was quite a rare and unique collection, so it it was a good amount of money as a whole, and I think that's what the one spouse saw as money, and the other had a lot more sentimental attachment to it. So yep. So that was that was definitely the unique one.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

What a fascinating job you have.

SPEAKER_03 36:27

So I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

We are going to um we're gonna have your contact information in the show notes for this episode. So if anybody wants to reach out to you, we will have your contact information available. And I just want to thank you for your time. This was really interesting.

SPEAKER_03 36:43

Oh no, I enjoyed it. Thank you for having me. I hope this finds helpful for some people. And again, free consultation. You have any questions, call. I'd rather walk you through it and be sure you're not making any major mistakes than to just assume it's not worth it or something like that. So, yep, that would be wonderful. So, thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Thank you.

Key Takeaways And Follow The Show

SPEAKER_02 37:10

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to listen to Divorce Rich Podcast. If you like this podcast, please follow us on Apple or anywhere that you download podcasts and share this link with any friends or family that you think might benefit from this information.