On August 22, 2013, with nothing much left to do, I began preliminary tasks to close the estate. In fact, ten days prior, I was working on preliminary tasks until the belligerent beneficiary disrupted the process as described in the article One Last Gripe from the Belligerent Beneficiary. So, on August 22nd, it was a good time to pick up where I left off. On this day, I was finally able to update the initial distribution amounts to the estate account.

Although things were slow at this point, I knew I would be busy in the upcoming month. On September 1^st, two events would occur:

• The one year anniversary of the decedent’s death is the end of the fiscal year for the estate. With all the property settled, this date sets a deadline for the estate income taxes to December 15, 2013.
• The time for creditors to make a claim against the estate would expire. After this date, creditors had no recourse.

Basically, the two events clear the way to close the estate. Since the estate income taxes were off the estate, the only task left was to close the estate. So, collecting documents and financial statements occupied my time for the rest of August in preparation for the final accounting.

Completing Preliminary Tasks

By September 1^st, the estate became a part time gig for me. When the anniversary date of the decedent came and went with no activity, I became a little concerned. However, I went about my business until ten days later. At this point, I was wondering why my attorney didn’t call to provide closing instructions. So, on September 11, 2013, I called my attorney and asked, “There’s nothing much left to do. When can we close the estate?”

After a little discussion, my attorney replied, “…we need to provide a final Inventory of Assets. The Inventory of Assets needs to be accurate with no estimates. Every asset needs a final value. Once you complete the final Inventory of Assets, send the form to me and we’ll discuss the final account.”

After the conversation, I immediately began working on the final Inventory of Assets. Referencing the relevant documents and statements, the final values were quickly updated. The next day, I emailed the completed inventory to my attorney. In response, my attorney emailed me the three schedules that make up the final account. Along with the schedules was a note to call the next day for instructions. Essentially, this exchange of emails completed the preliminary tasks and was the beginning of the final accounting.

The Anxiety before the Final Accounting

When my attorney sent me the three schedules, the anxiety started to build. Throughout the estate administration, I knew I would have to provide an accounting of the estate. Moreover, I knew that this would be the time I would find out about my administrative acumen. If my record keeping system or my bookkeeping system was sloppy, the final accounting would be a nightmare. So, I became quite anxious when my attorney gave me the schedules for the final account. At this point, it was time to find out how well I performed as an executor.

Was this article insightful? Do you understand why it’s important to record final entries into the estate account and collect documents and statements before the final accounting? Share your thoughts or questions in the comments area below.