There are many times when lawyers who deal with estate planning and taxes will need to use an appraiser for different types of personal property.  Lee Drexler, president of Esquire Appraisals, Inc. of New York City and Westchester, is an experienced appraiser of fine arts, furniture and jewelry and has seen many unique pieces throughout her career.  We spoke with Lee recently and asked if she could share with us some of the more interesting things that she has seen over the years.

One such story that she shares in the video below is of a woman who wanted her to appraise her engagement ring.  It appears the woman had take the ring in to be reset earlier and had never been fully satisfied with the look and feel of the ring afterwards.  Well, as you might suspect, it didn’t take Ms. Drexler long to discover that in fact the ring she was given back was fake.  Both the diamond and the gold that it was set in were no longer real.  An awful fact to find out so many years later, but as Lee says, she is brought in to reveal an ugly truth a lot of times.

Lee Drexler recently filmed a presentation with James Cohen on the legal aspects of appraisals for CLE credit on Lawline.com.  The program covers the issue from both sides, the attorney and the appraiser. Lee has also written a book called Fabulous Finds, where she shares stories like this about finding valuable pieces that nobody even knew existed.

To contact Lee Drexler, call 212-889-2580.  Please enjoy the short video below, and look for the CLE lecture soon.