A probate inventory list is the sworn schedule of everything a person owned when they died, with a value assigned to each item, filed with the probate court by the executor or personal representative. It is usually the first hard deadline in the whole process, and it arrives earlier than most people expect. In Texas, you have 90 days from the day you qualify to serve.
Most of the work is clerical rather than legal. You are identifying assets, establishing what each was worth on one specific date, and presenting it in the format your county wants. The part that catches people out is scope: a great many of the things in a person’s life do not belong on this list at all, and putting them on creates problems that take months to unwind.
This guide covers what goes on the list, what stays off it, how to value what’s on it, and what the deadlines are. If the estate includes a small business, you will also be building a stock list, which is a different exercise with its own conventions, and the columns a working inventory list needs will save you inventing a format from scratch.
The Bottom Line
- The list covers probate assets only: property titled in the deceased’s sole name with no beneficiary designation. Jointly held property, accounts with named beneficiaries, and anything in a living trust are excluded.
- Every value is fair market value as of the date of death, not what the item cost and not what it is worth today.
- Deadlines vary sharply by state: 90 days from qualification in Texas under Estates Code § 309.051, around 150 days from the date of death in California, and up to nine months in New York.
- Extensions are routinely granted, but almost always only if you ask before the deadline passes rather than after.
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What Is a Probate Inventory List?
It is an official list, filed with the probate court and served on the interested parties, describing the property the deceased owned and stating a value for each item. Courts use it for three things: to confirm the estate has enough to pay creditors, to give beneficiaries a verifiable picture of what they are inheriting, and to establish the figures that any inheritance or estate tax is calculated from.
It goes by different names depending on where you are. California calls it the Inventory and Appraisal. Michigan uses form PC 577. Connecticut uses PC-440. Texas calls it the Inventory, Appraisement, and List of Claims. The document is doing the same job in each case.
Two features distinguish it from an ordinary list of belongings. It is sworn, meaning you attest to its accuracy with personal liability attached if you are careless. And it is dated: everything on it describes a single moment, the date of death, regardless of what has happened to the property since.
What Assets Go on a Probate Inventory List
Include property that was titled in the deceased’s sole name, with no surviving co-owner and no named beneficiary:
- Real estate held solely in their name, described by legal description rather than street address
- Bank and brokerage accounts without a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation
- Vehicles, boats, and trailers titled to them alone
- Business interests, whether a sole proprietorship’s assets or shares in a closely held company
- Personal property of meaningful value, such as jewelry, art, collections, tools, equipment and firearms
- Debts owed to the deceased, including personal loans they had made and uncollected wages
- Intellectual property, royalties, and any pending claim or lawsuit the estate could collect on
What to leave off
This is where most first inventories go wrong.
- Jointly owned property with right of survivorship. It passed to the co-owner at the moment of death and never entered the estate.
- Accounts with a named beneficiary. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and POD or TOD accounts go directly to the beneficiary.
- Assets held in a living trust. The trust owns them, not the deceased, which is the entire point of having created it.
- Ordinary household contents of little resale value. Most courts accept a grouped entry and a single reasonable figure rather than an itemized list of every plate and towel.
Where a business is part of the estate, the stock and equipment do need itemizing, and that means a physical count rather than a paperwork exercise. If the business already tracked stock with coded items and scanners, the existing records are the fastest route to a defensible schedule, because an item-level barcode system produces the kind of quantity record an appraiser will ask for.
How to Value Assets at the Date of Death
Every figure on the list is fair market value on the date of death: what a willing buyer would have paid a willing seller on that day. Not the purchase price, not the insured value, and not today’s number.
How to establish it, by asset type:
| Asset | How to value it |
|---|---|
| Bank accounts | Statement balance on the date of death, including accrued interest |
| Publicly traded securities | Mean of the high and low trading price on the date of death |
| Real estate | Written appraisal from a licensed appraiser; some states require a court-appointed probate referee |
| Vehicles | Published guide value for the year, mileage, and condition |
| Business interest | Business appraisal; stock and equipment usually valued separately |
| Household goods | Grouped estimate at resale value, not replacement cost |
| Jewelry, art, collections | Independent appraisal for anything of significant value |
Two habits save trouble later. Document the basis of every number, whether that is the statement, the appraisal or the guide entry, because a beneficiary who disagrees with a figure will ask where it came from, sometimes years later. And use resale value rather than replacement value for personal property. A dining set that cost $4,000 is worth what someone would pay for a used dining set, which is a far smaller number and the correct one.
Probate Inventory Deadlines by State
Most states require the inventory within about three months of the personal representative’s appointment, though the range runs from two months to nine.
| State | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Texas | 90 days from qualification (Estates Code § 309.051) |
| California | Around 150 days from the date of death, with a 30-day extension available on request (Bliss Law) |
| New York | Up to nine months, with extensions requested before expiry |
| Michigan | Commonly 91 days from issue of the Letters of Authority, on form PC 577 (Washtenaw County Probate Court) |
| Connecticut | Two months from appointment, on form PC-440 |
Treat this as a starting point and confirm against your own county, because local rules and the type of administration both change the answer. Probate rules are set by state and interpreted county by county, so the court that issued your letters is the authority on what it expects and when.
For context on the wider timeline: uncontested probate commonly runs six to twelve months, so the inventory deadline typically falls while you are still early in the process, often before you have located everything.
Inventorying a Business Inside an Estate
If the deceased ran a bakery, a florist’s, a catering operation, or a wholesale business, the inventory is the most labour-intensive part of the estate, and it has a clock on it that the rest of the assets do not: perishable stock loses value while you are counting it.
Practical sequence:
- Separate the business’s assets from personal ones on day one. A van used for both, a freezer in a home garage, stock stored at a family address: each needs a decision, and decisions made later look arbitrary.
- Count the stock before it deteriorates, recording dates and quantities as you go. Where the business kept its own inventory records, start from those and verify rather than beginning from nothing.
- Value equipment at used-market prices. Commercial ovens, coolers, and display cases have an active secondhand market and specific resale figures.
- Note whether the business is still trading. If it is, the value of the operation as a going concern is different from the sum of its parts, and that usually needs a business appraiser rather than a list.
- Address receivables separately. Unpaid customer invoices are estate assets and belong on the list at collectible value, not face value.
What Happens If You File the Inventory Late
Courts are less forgiving here than people assume. A missed inventory deadline can bring a show-cause hearing, fines or sanctions, removal as executor, and personal liability for losses the delay caused the estate. Beneficiaries can also file objections, which adds months.
The practical protection is straightforward: if you are not going to make the date, file a motion for an extension before the deadline, explaining what is outstanding and how long you need. Extensions requested in advance are routine. Explanations offered afterwards are not treated the same way.
Partial information is usually better than silence, too. If one asset is holding up the whole filing, such as a property awaiting appraisal or an account you cannot get statements for, ask the court how it wants that handled rather than letting the whole inventory sit.
This is general information, not legal advice. Probate procedure varies by state and county, and an estate with real property, a business, or any disagreement among beneficiaries is worth running past a probate attorney in that jurisdiction.
How to Build the Probate Inventory List Efficiently
- Get the court’s form first. Build into the required format instead of transcribing your notes into it later.
- Do a mail and email sweep. Twelve months of statements, bills, and correspondence surfaces accounts and obligations no one in the family knew about.
- Pull the credit report. It reveals open accounts and debts that would otherwise take months to discover.
- Check for unclaimed property. Every state runs a database, and forgotten balances turn up in a meaningful share of estates.
- Sort assets into probate and non-probate immediately, and keep the non-probate list too. You will not file it, but you will be asked about those assets repeatedly.
- Order appraisals early. Real estate and business valuations take weeks, and they are the most common reason an inventory misses its date.
- Photograph valuable personal property. It settles later disagreements about condition and about what was there, cheaply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a probate inventory?
Probate assets only: property titled solely in the deceased’s name with no beneficiary designation. That means sole-name real estate and accounts, vehicles, business interests, valuable personal property, and debts owed to the deceased. Jointly held property, beneficiary-designated accounts, and trust assets are excluded.
How long do I have to file a probate inventory list?
It depends on the state. Texas requires 90 days from qualification under Estates Code § 309.051; California is around 150 days from the date of death with a 30-day extension available; New York allows up to nine months. Most states cluster near three months from appointment. Confirm with the court that issued your letters.
Do I need an appraisal for a probate inventory?
For real estate, business interests, and valuable jewelry, art, or collections, yes, and some states require a court-appointed probate referee for real property. Bank balances and publicly traded securities can be documented from statements and market prices. Household goods are generally accepted as a grouped estimate.
What happens if I miss the probate inventory deadline?
Possible consequences include a show-cause hearing, fines, removal as personal representative, and personal liability for losses the delay causes. Courts generally grant extensions requested before the deadline, so filing a motion early is far safer than explaining a late filing afterwards.
Does the probate inventory list have to be made public?
It varies. In Texas, an executor may file an Affidavit in Lieu of Inventory when the estate has no unpaid debts other than secured ones and every beneficiary receives a full copy. The inventory still has to be prepared, it just stays out of the public file. Other states require the inventory itself to be filed.
How do I value a small business for a probate inventory?
Value the stock and the equipment separately, both at fair market value on the date of death, using a physical count for stock and used-market prices for equipment. If the business is still trading, its value as a going concern is a separate question that usually needs a business appraiser.
The Bottom Line
The probate inventory list is a scoping exercise before it is a valuation exercise. Decide first what belongs to the estate, because sole-name ownership with no beneficiary designation is the test that determines the whole shape of the document. Then value each item as of the date of death, and document where every figure came from.
Find your court’s deadline in the first week, not the fourth. If an appraisal is going to push you past it, ask for the extension while you still have time to be granted one. The executors who struggle with this filing are rarely the ones who found it difficult. They are the ones who discovered late how soon it was due.
