When dealing with the decedent’s bank accounts, the executor must track the bank fees, if any.  Typically, in a common estate, an executor will close a decedent’s bank account without knowledge of any associated bank fees. Consequently, without examining the bank statements, bank fees may go unnoticed by the executor. If this happens, the oversight may carry through to the final accounting. Therefore, to avoid errors in the final accounting, the executor must look at the bank statements.

Tracking the Bank Fees

In the article Creating an Income and Expense Report, creating the report makes it easier for the executor to complete the final accounting. However, bank fees, hidden in the bank statements, can sabotage even the best bookkeeping and record keeping systems. To avoid this from happening, the executor can do the following:

• Review each bank statement. Especially the bank statements that still arrive even after closing the account. Some accounts have annual fee assessments, so around January the executor may have to account for a bank fee.
• Reconcile each bank fee seen on the bank statement with the reports generated from the bookkeeping system. If the bank fee is missing, add the bank fee manually and adjust accordingly. As executor, don’t wait for the final accounting to reconcile a discrepancy that happened six months ago. Preferably, the executor should take care of the problem immediately after detection.

The key to reconciling the bank fees is incorporating a bookkeeping system as described in the article Why Accurate Bookkeeping is Crucial to an Estate. With a good bookkeeping system and running reports that can detect discrepancies, the executor should complete the final accounting smoothly.

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