How the accounts are put together
Start with what the person owned and owed on the day they died, at the values used for probate. Record money in and out as it happens, or import the estate bank account's statement. A sale is matched to the asset it came from, so the accounts show the gain or loss against its value at death.
The England and Wales layout gives a capital account, an income account, administration expenses and a distribution account. The US layout is a charge and discharge account: everything the executor is charged with must equal everything paid out, distributed or still on hand.
The residue is shared by the fractions in the will. Each share is worked out on the whole residue, then anything already paid to that person comes off. Odd pennies go to the shares rounded down the most, so the shares always add back to the exact residue.
Example: Margaret Ellis left a house, savings, a car to her grandson and £5,000 to a hospice. After sales, income and £13,253.47 of costs, the residue of £295,741.45 splits three ways as £98,580.49, £98,580.48 and £98,580.48. Open Margaret's accounts or the Pennsylvania model account.
Questions executors ask
What should estate accounts include?
What the person owned and owed at death, what each asset sold for, income since death, the costs of the administration, the gifts in the will and how the residue is split. Each residuary beneficiary should be able to see their share, what they have already had and what is still due.
Is there an official format?
Not in England and Wales: the layout here is the one solicitors commonly use. In the US, an informal account to the heirs has no set form, but an account filed with a probate court must be on that court's own form. Use the court's form and copy the totals across.
How do I show interim payments to beneficiaries?
Enter each one under Money as a payment from the residue to that person. Their share is worked out on the whole residue, then everything they have had is taken off, so someone paid early is not paid twice. An item handed over towards their share counts the same way.
Who signs the estate accounts?
GOV.UK says the final accounts should be approved and signed by the executors and the main beneficiaries. The printed accounts end with signature lines for each executor and residuary beneficiary, and each beneficiary's statement has its own approval line.
What if there isn't enough to pay every gift?
The residue goes first. If that is used up, cash gifts are cut in the same proportion, and gifts of items are cut last. That is the usual order in England and Wales and under the Uniform Probate Code, but a will can set its own order, so check before paying anything.
What happens to odd pennies when the residue won't split exactly?
Each share is rounded down to the penny, then the pennies left over go one each to the shares that lost the most in rounding. The shares always add back to the exact residue. Show the working lists every share before and after rounding.
Does it work out inheritance tax or estate tax?
No. Enter the tax you pay under Money. Inheritance tax or estate tax gets its own line in the accounts; other tax sits with the expenses. Work out the tax itself with HMRC's or the IRS's guidance, or a tax adviser.
Where are my figures kept?
Only in this browser on this device. Every change is saved as you type. An estate takes months, so download a backup file now and then: it opens on another computer, or here if the browser's data is ever cleared.
Sources: GOV.UK Distributing the estate; Co-op Legal Services, What are estate accounts; HMRC manual IHTM12086, abatement; Pennsylvania Model Estate Account; Virginia Form CC-1680; Idaho Code 15-3-902 (the Uniform Probate Code abatement order); for estates that cannot pay their debts, the Administration of Insolvent Estates of Deceased Persons Order 1986 and Idaho Code 15-3-805 (Uniform Probate Code 3-805). This is a bookkeeping tool, not legal or tax advice.