When handling the affairs of an estate it is often times the duty and responsibility of the Executor, Administrator, Personal Representative to safeguard the decedent’s assets. This is the second major step in an Executor’s Duties.
Once you’ve petitioned the court to probate the will, the next big step in the process will be to Assembly and Inventory All of the Decedent’s Assets. This includes “inventories and appraises household goods and effects, removing valuables to vault.”
After that you will have to Procure an Appraisal of All of the Assets via gathering complete and satisfactory evidence of the value of all assets of the decedent.
The last personal property task you will have to do is immediately after procuring appraisals of all assets… you will have to execute on the Administration of the Estate.
In regards to personal property of the decedent, you will have to “give special study to valuable collections; determine method and time of sale for articles not bequeathed; make a careful estimate of the amount of cash to be raised for payment of taxes, legacies, and expenses of administration and of probable net estate for distribution.”
This all simply means, tracking how much you can get for the personal items and how that will benefit the estate either by paying what the estate owes, or increasing the probably net residue of the estate for distribution at the end of your case.
Download Your Copy of the YBDG – Personal Property Inventory & Appraisal Form Here! Print this out and have it with you whenever you are performing your duties as Personal Representative of the estate as it relates to personal property.
To assist you with these tasks, we’ve created this Personal Property Inventory & Appraisal Form for your convenience.