Inventory and valuation

Three lists, not one pile

First, assets the trust already owns: accounts titled to the trustee, land deeded to the trustee, and tangible property the trust holds. Second, assets still in the decedent's own name. Those often need probate, or a small-estate affidavit, before anyone can collect them. Third, assets that pass by a beneficiary form: life insurance, payable-on-death accounts, and most retirement accounts. The trust does not control those just because it says "all of my property."

A pour-over will is the usual bridge from the second list to the trust. It does not move the asset by itself. The will has to be probated, and someone has to transfer title.

Date-of-death values

Ask each bank and brokerage for a statement covering the date of death. Brokerage firms will produce a date-of-death valuation if you ask. For a house, an appraisal is the sturdy choice if you may sell, if shares will be unequal, or if an estate tax return is possible. An agent's price opinion is sometimes used inside a family and is often not enough for a tax return.

Household goods can be grouped unless a specific gift identifies an item or something is genuinely valuable. Photograph the rooms before relatives start taking furniture home. If the trust gives "my piano to my niece," identify the piano before it is sold with the contents.

Debts belong on the same page

List the mortgage, the last medical bills, credit cards, and the funeral invoice beside the assets. A picture of net value is what tells you whether a distribution is premature. Keep the statements. The accounting phase is much easier if the inventory was started as a spreadsheet in week one.