Estate administration records and questions checklist

Records that show what the estate holds

An inventory identifies assets owned at death. Investment accounts may lack paper statements, and records may be kept in a lockbox or home safe. Accounts titled in the decedent's name are typically frozen until institutions receive documents establishing who may act.

• The will identifies the person named as executor.
• Death certificates document the death.
• Property records identify real estate and other property.
• Account records identify accounts held in the decedent's name.
• Insurance records identify policies.
• Beneficiary information identifies designated beneficiaries.

Authority and asset ownership

Authority to administer an estate depends on the jurisdiction and the asset's ownership. In New York, a person named executor has no authority until the Surrogate's Court admits the will to probate and issues letters testamentary.

New York practitioners describe beneficiary-designated, survivorship, and trust assets as typically passing outside the will and executor's administration.

Valuation and care of property

Estate valuation and care involve identifying property and its condition. Practitioners in New York note that estate assets are valued at death and that appraisals are used for assets without a ready market.

Practitioners say personal representatives take reasonable steps to safeguard estate assets from appointment through distribution and settlement.

• Account statements document account holdings.
• Tax returns record tax information relevant to administration.

Tax returns and administration accounting

Tax filings can include the decedent's final income tax return, an estate income tax return, and a federal estate tax return.

Informal accounting presents numbers to beneficiaries for signed receipts and releases. Formal accounting is a Surrogate's Court proceeding that can bind parties and discharge the fiduciary.

• The decedent's tax return records prior tax information.

Common questions