Pendleton & Sons

The Problem#

• When a collector dies, the executor needs both probate valuations (date-of-death value for tax) and sale estimates (auction potential)
• Pendleton currently receives item lists as spreadsheets or handwritten inventories from solicitors and returns valuations as PDF reports
• There is no structured way to share auction results back to the estate — the valuer’s knowledge (condition, provenance, comparables) and the solicitor’s records (ownership, bequests, tax position) are disconnected at every handover
• HMRC increasingly scrutinises estate valuations; 8% of Pendleton-valued estates currently face valuation challenges

How They’d Use INHERIT#

• Receive INHERIT documents from solicitors containing asset.json entries with category values such as art, antiques, collectibles, jewellery_watches, and books_manuscripts
• Add professional valuations using valuation.json — setting providerType: "auction_house", method: "comparable_sales" or "expert_opinion", and valuationPurpose: "date_of_death" for probate or "pre_sale" for auction estimates
• Record specialist credentials in valuerRegistration (e.g. body: "RICS", designation: "FRICS")
• Group related items using asset-collection.json with disposalStrategy values like "sell_as_collection" or "sell_individually"
• Attach images and condition reports via common/media.json on each asset
• After auction, update valuation.json entries with actual hammer prices, creating a complete audit trail from estimate through sale

The Integration#

• Bidirectional: Pendleton imports INHERIT documents from solicitors, adds valuations and catalogue data, and returns enriched documents
• Their online platform exposes an API for estate administrators to query item status, receiving event.json updates for milestones — cataloguing, lot assignment, sale, settlement

The Business Case#

• Specialist time on data entry reduced by 30%, freeing approximately 15,000 hours per year for revenue-generating valuation work
• Structured valuation data eliminates the re-keying that currently costs solicitors an average of 90 minutes per estate
• The provenance chain — linking each valuation to the valuer’s credentials and methodology — satisfies HMRC’s scrutiny, reducing the 8% rate of valuation challenges

Before / After#

Without INHERIT:

1. Solicitor emails a spreadsheet listing 85 items from the deceased’s collection — descriptions are inconsistent, values missing
2. Pendleton specialist re-types item details into their cataloguing system
3. Specialist inspects, photographs, and values each item; produces a PDF valuation report
4. PDF is emailed back to the solicitor, who re-keys the values into their case management system
5. Items are consigned for auction; solicitor has no structured way to track progress
6. After sale, Pendleton emails a settlement statement; solicitor re-keys realised prices

With INHERIT:

1. Solicitor sends an INHERIT document with structured asset.json entries for each item
2. Pendleton imports the document; specialist adds valuation.json entries and common/media.json attachments
3. Enriched INHERIT document is returned to the solicitor — values, images, and provenance import directly
4. After sale, Pendleton updates the valuations with realised prices; the solicitor’s system reflects the changes automatically