---
title: "Estate jewellery for executors: what you can do before and after the grant"
description: "Executors can have estate jewellery looked at from photographs before the grant, selling nothing. Later: an itemised list and one offer, not a valuation."
canonical: "https://assaypost.co.uk/probate-and-estate-jewellery"
modified: "2026-10-01"
language: "en-GB"
publisher: "Assaypost"
---

# Estate jewellery for executors: what you can do before and after the grant

Updated 1 October 2026.

You are responsible for the estate's jewellery until it is passed on. Photographs and a written description commit the estate to nothing, so you can start whenever you are ready, and any parcel can wait for the grant.

**In short:** As an executor, you can have the estate's jewellery looked at from photographs before the grant, with nothing moved or sold. If the estate later sends it, each piece is numbered, weighed and checked for its metal, and one written offer is made for everything sent, with a list of every item. That offer is not a probate valuation, and we do not give legal or tax advice.

**What an estate gets, at a glance**

- **Before the grant**: Photographs and a description; nothing moves
- **What comes back**: An itemised list with one written offer
- **Who decides**: The executor, in writing
- **What we are not**: Not valuers, not solicitors

## What you can do before the grant

GOV.UK's guidance to people applying for probate is plain about disposing of property before the grant:

> You should not make any financial plans or put property on the market until you've got probate.
>
> [GOV.UK, Applying for probate](https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate), accessed 21 September 2026

Whether a grant is needed at all, and what may be done before it, are questions for the solicitor or probate practitioner acting on the estate. Finding out what is there is a different matter. Photographs move nothing, and a written note of what the marks show can help you make your own list. The valuation itself should come from a valuer, or from your own careful estimate, and not from a buyer.

A sensible order is to make your own list, have the possessions valued (by a qualified valuer where they may be significant), apply, and decide about selling once the [grant of probate](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary#grant-of-probate) has been issued. [Selling jewellery as an executor before probate is granted](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/selling-jewellery-before-probate-is-granted) sets that order out in more detail.

## A valuation and an offer are not the same thing

Jewellery, silver and watches are household and personal goods, the category form IHT407 covers. HMRC values them on the [open market basis](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary#open-market-value) in section 160 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984:

> the price which the property might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold in the open market at that time
>
> [HMRC, Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM21041](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm21041), accessed 1 October 2026

The same manual says that “sales after the death, particularly those at auction, provide the best evidence of the open market value at the date of sale.” A sale to one buyer, for one figure covering a mixed lot, is not an open-market sale of each piece: it is weaker evidence than an auction result and gives no value for any single item. For jewellery, GOV.UK's instruction to executors is to [“work out how much you would have got if you'd sold them”](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value).

A written offer from one buyer for one mixed lot records what that buyer would pay on that day. It is not a professional valuation prepared on the open market basis, and we will not describe it as one. [Valuation, appraisal or offer](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/valuation-appraisal-or-offer) sets the four kinds of document side by side, and [probate valuation of jewellery and silver](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/probate-valuation-of-jewellery-and-silver) goes through form IHT407 and who carries out the valuation.

### What our written offer is

- A dated record of every item received, described piece by piece.
- What one buyer will pay for that lot, on that day, in writing.
- A record of the sale proceeds, if the estate accepts it.
- A note of anything we think may be worth more to a specialist, an auction house or a dealer, so you can take it there.
- Free to obtain and free to decline.

### What it is not

- An open market valuation for inheritance tax.
- A probate valuation, or a valuation by a qualified valuer.
- An insurance or replacement valuation, which is a different basis again.
- A view on what an auction would make for a particular piece.
- Advice about the estate, the will, the tax position or the beneficiaries.

> **Where a formal valuation is the right answer**
>
> If full details of the estate are being reported, if the jewellery or silver may be significant, or if anyone is likely to question the figures, instruct a qualified valuer. Treat any buyer's offer as a separate document. A valuation costs money, and for a significant estate it is usually worth it.

## What goes in the estate file

Questions about a jewellery box can arrive long after the estate is settled, from a beneficiary who was abroad or a relative who remembers a brooch differently. GOV.UK sets out how long the executor answers for it:

> You're responsible for the assets from the date of death until the date everything has been passed on to the beneficiaries.
>
> [GOV.UK, Dealing with the estate of someone who has died](https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate), accessed 21 September 2026

A written record answers a question asked years later. It starts with your own list, made before anything is sent anywhere; [the printable estate inventory](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/estate-jewellery-and-silver-inventory) has a row for each piece and a column for who has asked for it. This is what comes out of a parcel here, and it is yours to keep either way:

- **A list of what arrived**: Every item numbered and described as it comes out of the parcel: what it is, the marks it carries, its condition, its recorded weight and the tests used on it ([clause 5.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-5-1)). It includes anything we will not buy.
- **A written offer, dated**: One amount for everything sent, in writing with that list. If the estate accepts, the estate account can record it as the sale proceeds, and a beneficiary can read it.
- **Your decision, in writing**: You accept by pressing the accept button on the offer or by saying so in writing, and it is recorded as such ([clause 6.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-6-1)). Opening the offer or its link never accepts it. A declined offer is recorded as declined. Neither happens because time passed.
- **What went back, and how**: Anything declined is repacked and returned by tracked, signed-for post at our cost. The file then holds a posting record for the items that came home and a payment record for the ones that did not.
- **The reasoning on anything unusual**: Where a piece was flagged as possibly worth more to a specialist than as metal, the file says so and says why.

The value at the date of death also matters later if the estate or a beneficiary sells coins or a quantity of gold. [Selling inherited gold and coins: the tax position](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/tax-when-you-sell-inherited-gold-and-coins) explains why.

## When more than one person has an interest

Where several people have an interest in the jewellery, three parts of how we work can help, and there is one thing we cannot do.

- **The list comes with the offer**: People remembering a box from years ago may be picturing different objects. A described list of what is actually there, shared before anyone decides, gives everyone the same starting point.
- **Any piece can be asked back**: If a beneficiary decides they want the brooch after all, ask for it back. A fresh written offer is made for what remains, the first stays open while you decide, and the brooch comes home at our cost either way ([clause 6.3](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-6-3)).
- **Nothing moves while you decide**: Items are held as they arrived while an offer is open, and nothing is melted, cut or taken apart before you accept ([clause 4.4](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-4-4)). If you need longer, ask; you do not have to give a reason ([clause 10.2](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-10-2)).
- **We cannot arbitrate**: We take instructions from the seller, or someone the seller has authorised in writing, and from nobody else. If there is a real dispute, stop, decline, get everything back and take advice.

[Dividing jewellery between beneficiaries](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/dividing-jewellery-between-beneficiaries) covers what the will already decides, how to record who wants what, and what to do when two people want the same piece.

## Identity, and the right to sell

Every seller is asked the same questions. The checks are there to stop us buying stolen property, including property taken from an estate before the executor could list it.

Identity is checked before payment. Because an estate's seller is never the original owner, we may also ask for evidence that you are entitled to sell, such as the probate papers ([clause 9.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-9-1)). Payment goes only by bank transfer to a UK account in your own name ([clause 7.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-7-1)), and never in cash, whatever the amount. If you are selling as executor or administrator and the payment needs to go to an account held for the estate, ask before anything is posted, and we will confirm in writing what can be done.

[Responsible sourcing and anti-money-laundering](https://assaypost.co.uk/responsible-sourcing-and-aml) sets out the documents accepted and when more is asked, and [the guide to identity and provenance checks](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/identity-and-provenance-checks) explains the process from your side.

## What the estate gets from us, in order

If the estate sends anything, these are the commitments that apply, set out for someone who has to account for the result.

1. **Ask before you post**: Photographs and a rough idea, in writing, before any item leaves the house. It helps you see what is there; it is not a valuation, it is not for the estate's figures, and it starts nothing.
2. **Everything is itemised**: Each item is numbered and described as it is unpacked, before any figure is attached. The list is a record for the estate file and answers a beneficiary's questions.
3. **One written offer for the lot**: Dated, in writing, with the item list on it, sent to you to read and decide on. Nothing is agreed over the telephone without a written record.
4. **Nothing is sold until you say yes**: Acceptance is something you do: pressing the accept button on the offer or saying yes in writing. No offer lapses into a sale, so nothing is ever sold without a decision you can point to ([clause 6.2](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-6-2)).
5. **Free tracked return**: Decline everything, or ask for any piece back, and it comes back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost. The risk in the post is ours until it is delivered to you ([clause 7.2](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-7-2)), so a change of mind costs the estate nothing.
6. **Worth more whole? We say so**: Coins, antique silver, period jewellery, signed pieces and watches by known makers, running or not: if a piece may be worth more to a specialist, an auction house or a dealer, we tell you before any offer, so you can take it there. For an estate lot we will post the whole lot back at our cost while you take another opinion, with no obligation to return it ([clause 10.3](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-10-3)).
7. **A person handles it**: One person unpacks the lot, writes the list and the offer, and answers your questions about it.

## Where to get the advice we cannot give

We buy gold, silver, platinum and palladium by post. We are not solicitors, probate practitioners, accountants or qualified valuers, and nothing on this page is legal or tax advice. Where a point matters to the estate, ask someone qualified to answer it.

GOV.UK's free guides are a good first stop: [applying for probate](https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate), [valuing the estate](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died) and [dealing with the estate](https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate). For jewellery or silver that may be significant, a qualified valuer's report on the open market basis is the safe course.

Before an estate's property goes to any buyer, [how to check a postal gold buyer](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/how-to-check-a-postal-gold-buyer) sets out the registers to search and the questions to put to the terms. Put them to us too. [How it works](https://assaypost.co.uk/how-it-works) follows a parcel from posting to payment, and [offers, returns and payment](https://assaypost.co.uk/offers-returns-and-payment) is the page to send a beneficiary who asks what happens next. If you are sorting the box yourself, [a box of jewellery you cannot identify](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/a-box-of-jewellery-you-cannot-identify) and [what to have looked at before you sell](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/what-to-have-looked-at-before-you-sell) are the two guides to start with.

## Questions executors ask

### Can I sell the estate's jewellery before probate is granted?

Ask the solicitor or probate practitioner acting on the estate, because the answer depends on the will, who is applying and what the estate holds. GOV.UK's general guidance is not to put property on the market until you have the grant. Photographs and a written description are safe at any stage, and the parcel can wait. [Selling jewellery before probate is granted](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/selling-jewellery-before-probate-is-granted) has the detail.

### Is your offer good enough for the inheritance tax figures, or do I need a professional valuation?

Our offer is not meant for that. HMRC works on open market value, and one buyer's offer for a mixed lot is not a valuation on that basis. If full details of the estate are being reported, if the items may be significant, or if anyone may question the figures, instruct a qualified valuer.

### What if a beneficiary objects after the parcel has been sent?

Decline, and everything comes back to you by tracked, signed-for post at our cost ([clause 6.3](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-6-3)). If they only want one piece, ask for that piece back instead: a fresh offer is made for the rest and the first stays open. Nothing is processed while you are deciding.

### There is no will. Does that change how you handle it?

It does not change how the items are handled, but it may change who is entitled to deal with them. GOV.UK's position is that where there is a will the executors named in it apply, and where there is not, the closest living relative can. Whoever administers the estate is who we deal with, and the identity checks are the same either way.

### Who do you pay, and into what account?

The person selling, once we have checked their identity, by bank transfer to a UK account in their own name, once the offer is accepted. The items become ours only when the money reaches that account, not when it is sent ([clause 7.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-7-1)). If you are selling as executor or administrator and the money needs to go to an account held for the estate, ask before anything is posted, and we will confirm in writing what can be done.

### Does everything have to go in one parcel?

No, but a lot is priced as a lot. Parcels that arrive on different days each get their own offer, unless you have asked us in writing to wait for the last one before pricing any of them ([clause 3.3](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-3-3)). Tell us roughly what is coming before you post, so the right service is used ([clause 7.4](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-7-4)). If the estate has more than one property, bag each one separately so the list says which house every line came from.

### There are medals, and something that might be ivory. What do we do with those?

Photograph both, do not clean the medals, and do not post anything that might be ivory. A named medal group is worth most as a group, and [the medals guide](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/war-medals-badges-and-regimental-silver) explains where it belongs. Dealing in ivory is banned in the UK apart from narrow exemptions, which [the ivory guide](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/ivory-and-the-pieces-you-cannot-sell) sets out. We do not buy it, and a piece that arrives anyway is left out of the offer and sent back ([clause 11.1](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-11-1)).

## Sources

1. [GOV.UK, Applying for probate](https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate) (accessed 21 September 2026)
2. [GOV.UK, Estimate the estate's value](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value) (accessed 21 September 2026)
3. [GOV.UK, Dealing with the estate of someone who has died](https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate) (accessed 21 September 2026)
4. [HMRC, Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM21041: how we value household goods](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm21041) (accessed 1 October 2026)
5. [GOV.UK, Inheritance Tax: household and personal goods (form IHT407)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-household-and-personal-goods-iht407) (accessed 21 September 2026)

## Related

- [Inherited jewellery](https://assaypost.co.uk/inherited-jewellery)
- [House clearance gold and silver](https://assaypost.co.uk/house-clearance-gold-and-silver)
- [Valuation, appraisal or offer](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/valuation-appraisal-or-offer)
- [Identity and provenance checks](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/identity-and-provenance-checks)
- [Antique silver or scrap](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silverware-antique-or-scrap)

## Start with photographs

- [Send your photos on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/447369296063?text=Hello.%20I'm%20dealing%20with%20an%20estate%20and%20there's%20jewellery%20to%20sort%20out.%20Sending%20photos%20now.)
- [How it works](https://assaypost.co.uk/how-it-works)
- Telephone [07369 296063](tel:+447369296063), 6am to 10pm, seven days a week