Probate and Estate Administration Checklist: A Practical Checklist

Summary. A deadline-ordered checklist: the first week, the titling review that determines whether probate is needed, simplified procedures, appointment, the account and ledger, creditor notice and priority, inventory and valuation, taxes and elections, and closing.

For doctrine, see Probate and Estate Administration. For the workflow, see Administering an Estate.

⚠ Do not distribute anything until the claim period has closed and taxes are resolved. A representative who distributes early is personally liable for what arrives afterward.

Phase 1 — The first week

10–15 certified death certificates ordered.
Property secured: locks, vehicles, valuables, jewelry, cash, firearms, documents.
INSURANCE CARRIER CALLED about the vacancy provision. (Most homeowners policies suspend or reduce coverage after 30–60 days unoccupied. An uninsured fire in an estate house is the worst outcome in this field.)
Utilities kept on (frozen pipes, mold).
Original will located: safe deposit box (may require a court order) · drafting attorney · county will registry · home safe · files.
Trust documents, deeds, and beneficiary designation records located.
Notified: Social Security · pension plans · employer · VA · every life insurer · health insurer.
Nothing paid. Nothing distributed — including personal items.
No estate debts paid from personal funds.
Mail redirected.
Credit bureaus notified of the death (identity theft after a published obituary is common).

Phase 2 — Is probate even required?

Every asset listed with how it is titled.
Non-probate assets identified: joint with survivorship · tenancy by the entirety · named beneficiary (life insurance, retirement, annuities, HSA) · POD/TOD accounts · TOD deeds · trust-owned · community property with survivorship.
The probate estate = what is left.
Clerk called: what is the small estate threshold, and what counts toward it? (Thresholds range widely and frequently exclude real property, vehicles, and exempt assets.)
Simplified options screened:
- Small estate affidavit (often 30–45 days after death; no court, no filing, no lawyer)
- Summary administration (small estates; sole-beneficiary spouse)
- Muniment of title / determination of heirship (no debts; clearing real property title)
Informal or unsupervised administration asked about by name.
Ancillary administration identified for real property in other states — and whether a simplified domiciliary-representative procedure exists there.

Phase 3 — Petition and appointment

Venue: county of domicile at death.
Petition filed with: original will · certified death certificate · heir and devisee list with addresses · approximate value · bond or waiver.
Self-proving affidavit checked; if absent, witness testimony or alternative proof arranged.
Notice given to heirs and devisees; publication completed.
Priority for appointment confirmed if intestate; written renunciations obtained from anyone of equal or higher priority.
Bond posted, or waived by the will or by heir consent.
6–10 certified letters ordered. (Institutions require originals, frequently dated within 60 days.)

Phase 4 — Set up

EIN obtained for the estate.
One estate bank account opened. NEVER commingle, never use estate funds personally even briefly.
Ledger started day one: every receipt and disbursement, with date, amount, purpose, and a receipt.
Contemporaneous time record started if the fee will be time-based or contested.
House photographed room by room, including drawers, closets, and cabinets — before family visits.
Subscriptions, memberships, autopay, and credit cards cancelled — after checking for automatic deposits and debits.
Beneficiary letter sent: who you are, what the process is, how long it will take, why nothing can be distributed yet.

Phase 5 — Creditors (this sets the timeline)

Notice published in a newspaper of general circulation as the statute directs.
DIRECT WRITTEN NOTICE sent to every reasonably ascertainable creditor. (Publication alone is constitutionally inadequate as to known creditors.)
Claim period diaried (commonly 3–6 months from publication; shorter from actual notice; outside limit from date of death).
Every claim logged with the date received and verified against the decedent's records.
Each claim allowed or disallowed in writing within the statutory period; disallowance deadline for the claimant to sue diaried.
Statutory priority followed: administration costs · funeral · family and homestead allowances · federal claims and taxes · last illness · state taxes · general unsecured.
If possibly insolvent: nothing paid outside priority order.
Secured creditors treated separately to the extent of collateral.
Family told: they are not personally liable (exceptions: co-signer · community property spouse · necessaries statute), and all calls come to you.
Medicaid estate recovery anticipated where long-term care benefits were received at 55+; deferrals and hardship waivers screened.

Phase 6 — Inventory and valuation

Inventory filed within the statutory period; served on interested persons.
Appraisals obtained: real property · business interests · collections · jewelry · anything unusual.
Date-of-death values fixed — these establish the basis step-up, frequently worth more to the family than anything else in the administration.
Personal property not moved or distributed yet; claims list kept but actual distribution deferred.

Phase 7 — Taxes and elections

Final Form 1040 for the year of death (joint filing with a surviving spouse considered).
Form 1041 for estate income, for each year the estate is open.
Form 706 where the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the exclusion (26 U.S.C. § 6018) — due 9 months after death; extendable 6 months to file, not to pay.
State estate or inheritance tax returns (thresholds are frequently far lower).
PORTABILITY ELECTION considered if there is a surviving spouse — requires filing Form 706 even when no tax is owed (26 U.S.C. § 2010). The most commonly missed election in estate practice.
Alternate valuation date considered (26 U.S.C. § 2032) — only where it reduces both the gross estate and the tax.
Marital deduction and any QTIP election reviewed (26 U.S.C. § 2056).
DISCLAIMER DEADLINE — 9 months, absolute (26 U.S.C. § 2518): in writing, before accepting any benefit, passing without the disclaimant's direction.
Tax professional engaged for anything beyond a simple final return.

Phase 8 — Managing assets

Power of sale confirmed in the will or the statute before selling anything; court order obtained if required.
Sales at fair market value, arm's length, with an appraisal in the file.
No sale to yourself, a relative, or a controlled entity without court approval and disclosure.
Property insured and maintained through closing; disclosure obligations checked.
Tax effect of estate-sale vs. distribute-then-sell evaluated before listing.
Business: operating/partnership agreement checked for a death-triggered buy-sell; key-person insurance located; interim authority confirmed; power to continue the business verified.
Retirement accounts: beneficiaries warned not to take a distribution before advice — an irreversible election can be very costly.
Digital assets: RUFADAA route used (online tool → will/trust → terms of service). Do not log in using the decedent's credentials.
Vehicles: insurance maintained; state estate title-transfer procedure used.
Unclaimed property databases searched in every state the decedent lived in.
Benefits claimed: SSA lump sum (apply — generally within 2 years) and survivor benefits · employer and former-employer life and pension · VA burial and DIC · final wages and accrued leave · workers' compensation death benefits · wrongful death claims (short limitations).
Overpayments identified for return (the SSA payment for the month of death, pension payments).

Phase 9 — Personal property

Photographs taken before anyone visits.
Written memorandum of tangible personal property located, if the will incorporates one.
Method announced in writing before anyone selects: rotating selection · valuation and offset · closed bidding · estate sale.
Firearms transfer rules checked before any movement.
Unexpected-value items appraised before leaving the house.
Distribution deferred to the end and included in the receipt and release.

Phase 10 — Beneficiaries

Quarterly written updates: what happened, what is next, what is causing delay.
Questions answered in writing.
Everyone treated identically — no early advances, no side arrangements, no promises.
Inventory and accounting provided.
Mediation considered early where a dispute begins to drive the timeline.
Hostile beneficiary communication routed through counsel.

Phase 11 — Closing

Accounting prepared: every receipt, disbursement, distribution, gain, loss, and fee; beginning and ending balances tie to the bank statements.
Waiver of formal accounting sought where the family agrees (informal accounting still provided).
Before distributing, all four confirmed:
- Claim period closed and every claim resolved
- All tax returns filed and taxes paid (closing letters or equivalent)
- Accounting approved or waived
- Reserve held for final expenses
Minor beneficiaries: conservatorship, UTMA custodianship, or court-approved arrangement in place.
Receipt and release obtained from each distributee.
Petition for discharge filed and THE ORDER OBTAINED. (This is what ends personal exposure.)
Kept permanently: discharge order · accounting · receipts and releases · tax returns · appraisals · certified letters.