Estate accounting and trust accounting: what beneficiaries should see
An estate or trust accounting should trace every dollar from date of death to the last check. How to read one, test it against bank statements, and get one.
Your mother has been gone for over a year. Your stepmother is the executor, and every time you ask about the estate she says the paperwork is almost done. Or your father's trust became irrevocable when he died, and the trustee, a cousin or an old family friend, sent a one-page summary with a total at the bottom. You have a figure, and you have no idea how anyone got to it.
An accounting is the document that answers that question. A good one lets you follow every dollar from the day the person died to the last distribution. A bad one, or a missing one, is where most estate and trust disputes start.
What is an estate accounting?
An estate accounting is the executor's report of everything that happened to the estate's money while they were in charge. Trust accounting is the same idea for a trust: the trustee reports what the trust held, what came in, what went out, and what is left. Whatever the state, nearly every accounting follows the same shape:
Starting assets: what the estate or trust held at the start, usually the date of death, each with a value.
Money in: interest, dividends, rent, refunds, a final paycheck, and assets found after the inventory was filed.
Gains and losses on sales: when property is sold, the difference between its value at the start and what it sold for.
Money out: funeral costs, the decedent's debts, taxes, upkeep on the house, legal fees, and the executor's or trustee's own pay.
Distributions: what went to beneficiaries, and when.
What is left: the property still on hand at the end of the period, which becomes the starting assets for the next accounting.
The two sides have to come out equal. Starting assets plus money in plus gains must equal money out plus losses plus distributions plus what is left. If they do not, something is missing, double counted, or wrong. Here is how that works on a sample estate:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starting assets at the date of death | $412,350 |
| Plus money in | $18,420 |
| Plus gains on sales | $6,500 |
| Total to account for | $437,270 |
| Money out | $41,180 |
| Losses on sales | $0 |
| Distributions | $250,000 |
| What is left | $146,090 |
| Total accounted for | $437,270 |
What is included in a probate accounting?
Behind each total sit schedules, the detail lists: every receipt with its date and source, every payment with its date, payee and purpose. California, for example, sets the contents of an account in its Probate Code (sections 1060 to 1064), and an account there follows the same layout: a summary of account, then schedules for receipts, gains on sales, disbursements, losses on sales, distributions, and property on hand at the end. Other states use different forms, but the categories are close to universal.
Do beneficiaries have a right to an irrevocable trust accounting?
In most states, yes, once the trust is irrevocable. Most states have adopted some version of the Uniform Trust Code, and its section 813 sets out the trustee's duty to inform and report. Maine's version, 18-B M.R.S. section 813, is typical.
It says the trustee has to keep the qualified beneficiaries (the people who can get money from the trust now, or who are next in line) reasonably informed. Within 60 days of learning a revocable trust has become irrevocable, the trustee has to tell them the trust exists and that they can ask for a copy of it and for the trustee's reports. At least once a year, and when the trust ends, the trustee sends a report to the beneficiaries who can receive money now, and to any other qualified beneficiary who asks for one. The report lists the trust's property, debts, money in and out, the trustee's pay and its source, and market values for the assets where possible.
The details vary by state, and so does how far the trust document can narrow these duties. States that never adopted the Uniform Trust Code, California among them, have their own statutes on when a trustee has to account.
Does a revocable trust owe beneficiaries an accounting?
Usually not while the person who created it is alive. A revocable trust belongs, in practice, to its grantor, who can change or cancel it at any time, and under the Uniform Trust Code the trustee's duties during that time run to the grantor.
Ohio's version, Ohio Revised Code section 5806.03, says the trustee's duties, including the duties to inform and report, "are owed exclusively to the settlor" (the law's word for the grantor). Ohio applies that even if the grantor has lost capacity, and states differ on that point.
At death the trust becomes irrevocable, and the beneficiaries' rights to information begin. If your worry is the years before death, such as money taken while a parent had dementia, elder financial abuse by family covers how to check those statements, and a lawyer in your state can say who has the right to raise it.
Does an executor have to show beneficiaries an accounting?
Probate accountings are set by state law and local court rules, so this varies more. Some states have the executor file accountings with the court on a schedule, and others require one only on request, on court order, or when the estate closes.
Many estates close on a final accounting the beneficiaries approve, or on signed waivers where everyone agrees to skip it. A waiver is a real choice, so go through anything you are asked to sign before the money goes out.
How long does an executor have to give an accounting?
There is no single national deadline. Many states expect an estate to be wrapped up, or an accounting filed, within about a year, and a beneficiary who has waited longer than that can usually ask the probate court to order one.
What is a final accounting for an estate?
A final accounting is the executor's last report before the estate closes. It starts from the date-of-death values on the inventory, shows every dollar in and out since the last accounting, and ends with what each beneficiary will receive. Once the court approves it, or you sign off on it, you usually lose the right to question what is in it, so check it against the statements first.
How to check an estate accounting against bank statements
An accounting is a summary. The statements are the record it was built from. Ask for every statement for every account and every month the accounting covers, then test it line by line:
The opening balance matches the date-of-death statements. Find the statement that covers the date of death. Many print a daily balance for that exact day, and the bank can also issue a date-of-death balance letter, which the executor should have for each account. That figure should match the starting value on the accounting.
Every deposit appears as money in. Find each deposit line on the receipts schedule. Look for refunds, rent from a property, and a final pension payment. Social Security paid for the month of death or later has to be returned (the deposit often prints as something like "SSA TREAS 310 XXSOC SEC"), and the bank often reverses it on its own, so look for the matching withdrawal before you count it as money in.
Every withdrawal appears as money out. Each payment line, check and transfer should match a disbursement or a distribution. A withdrawal with no matching entry is the first question to ask.
Transfers between accounts are counted once. Most executors open an estate account and move the decedent's money into it, so you may see a closing withdrawal or an official check on the decedent's statement and the same amount arriving in the estate account. That is one movement, and it should not show up as both money out and money in. (An online transfer out of the decedent's own account after the death is worth asking about, since someone used their login.)
Fees and executor pay match what is allowed. Some states set executor pay by a formula, others allow reasonable pay, and the will can set its own terms. Compare what was paid to what is allowed.
Payments to the executor, the trustee or their family stand out. Search the descriptions for their names. "ZELLE TO JOHN SMITH" or a check to the executor's spouse needs an explanation on the accounting, such as a reimbursed funeral cost with a receipt.
Property sales match the closing papers. A house sale should show up as a deposit from the title company in the "cash to seller" amount on the settlement statement. Compare the price to the inventory value, too.
No months are missing. A gap in the statements is a gap in what you can check, so ask for any missing month before you accept the totals.
One month of an estate checking statement, March 2025. It opens at $1,500.00 and closes at $47,133.10. The lines are an official check from the decedent's closed account for $62,400.00, check 1001 for $9,850.00, a county property tax payment of $3,214.60, a $118.42 power bill, a homeowners insurance refund of $412.00, a $4,000.00 Zelle payment to John Smith that matches nothing on the accounting, and $4.12 of interest.
| Date | Description | Withdrawals | Deposits | Balance | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/03 | BRANCH DEPOSIT OFFICIAL CHECK | 62,400.00 | 63,900.00 | Count this transfer only once | |
| 03/05 | CHECK 1001 | 9,850.00 | 54,050.00 | ||
| 03/11 | COUNTY TREASURER PROP TAX | 3,214.60 | 50,835.40 | ||
| 03/14 | DUKE ENERGY PAYMENT | 118.42 | 50,716.98 | ||
| 03/18 | DEPOSIT REFUND HOMEOWNERS INS | 412.00 | 51,128.98 | ||
| 03/21 | ZELLE TO JOHN SMITH | 4,000.00 | 47,128.98 | Nothing on the accounting matches | |
| 03/31 | INTEREST PAYMENT | 4.12 | 47,133.10 |
(The statement lines above are illustrations. Your bank's wording will differ.)
Check the starting inventory, too. An account the decedent had that never appears on the inventory still tends to show up in the accounts that do, as a transfer to an account number you do not recognize. The method for finding hidden accounts works the same way on an estate.
What are signs an executor is stealing from the estate?
Most executors are relatives doing a hard job with no training, and plenty of messy accountings come from someone who was overwhelmed. These patterns usually point to something more than a mess:
No accounting at all, after repeated requests and long past the time your state allows.
Round transfers to the executor's own accounts, especially ones with no reimbursement receipt behind them.
Cash and card use after the date of death. ATM withdrawals, cash back and purchases on the decedent's debit card are a common way money leaves quietly. The guide to tracing cash withdrawals covers every way cash shows up on a statement.
Property sold to the executor or a family member below its value, or sold without notice to the beneficiaries.
The executor living in the house rent free while the estate pays the taxes, insurance and repairs.
Totals with no schedules. A one-page summary cannot be checked, and an executor who refuses to give the detail is making that choice.
On a statement, most of these patterns look something like this:
| Sign | What it can look like |
|---|---|
| Round transfers to the executor | ONLINE TRANSFER TO CHK ...6612 $5,000.00, every few weeks |
| Cash after the date of death | ATM WITHDRAWAL $400.00, dated after the death |
| Property sold below value | A title company wire for less than the inventory value of the house |
| Executor living in the house | Estate pays property tax, insurance and repairs, and no rent comes in |
| Payments to family | A Zelle payment or check to the executor's spouse |
What happens when an executor or trustee refuses to give an accounting?
The usual first step is a written request that names what you want: the accounting, the schedules, and the statements for each account. Keep a copy. If that goes nowhere, a beneficiary can usually petition the court to compel an accounting: the court overseeing the estate in probate, or the court that hears trust cases in that state.
Once an accounting is filed, beneficiaries can object to specific items, such as a payment without a receipt, an unexplained transfer, or a fee that looks too high. The window to object is short in many states and starts when you are served, so check it right away.
If a court finds the executor or trustee broke their duties, it has a range of tools. The Uniform Trust Code's remedies, adopted in Ohio as Ohio Revised Code section 5810.01, include ordering the trustee to account, ordering them to repay the trust or restore property, suspending or removing them, cutting or denying their pay, and tracing property that was wrongly taken so it can be recovered. Probate courts have similar powers over executors, and how they use them differs by state.
What happens when an executor steals from the estate?
The court can order the executor to pay the loss back personally, which is called a surcharge, and it can remove the executor and appoint someone else to finish the job. Taking estate money can also be a crime, charged as theft or, when money was taken from an older person before death, as financial exploitation (see elder financial abuse by family).
What should a probate litigation attorney request with an estate accounting?
For counsel representing a beneficiary, an accounting is a starting point for discovery. Request the records behind it:
Every statement for every account the decedent or the trust held, from before death through the present, plus the estate account with its check images.
Statements for any account a transfer points to that is not on the inventory.
Receipts and invoices for every reimbursement the executor paid themselves.
Closing statements for every property sale, and appraisals behind the inventory values.
Fee agreements and time records for every professional the estate paid.
The decedent's final Form 1040 and the estate's Form 1041, whose interest and dividend schedules name every bank and brokerage that paid the decedent or the estate.
Then rebuild the accounting from the statements and compare. Every item on one and not the other becomes a specific objection with a page number behind it.
How do executors and trustees prepare an estate accounting?
If you are the executor or trustee, the same checks protect you. A beneficiary who can follow every dollar has much less reason to fight.
Keep the estate's money in one estate account, separate from your own, and pay everything from it.
Save the date-of-death statements for every account, and value each asset as of that date.
Keep a receipt for every reimbursement you pay yourself, and pay it as a check or transfer the statements will show, never as cash.
Track your time if you plan to take a fee, and know what your state and the will allow.
Balance the accounting before you send it, so both sides come out equal.
Send the statements with it. Sharing the source records up front answers most questions before anyone thinks to ask them.
Can software check an estate accounting against bank statements?
CounselPro turns bank and credit card statements into a transactions table that keeps the bank's original description on every row, and check images into their own list, so you can search for an executor's name, a Zelle payment or cash back. Click any transaction to open the statement page it came from. It shows which months you hold for each account and which are missing, and it marks transfers between the estate's own accounts as internal, so they count once.
On Premier and the Single Project, every statement is balanced to its own starting and ending totals. On Plus, Premier and the Single Project, you can ask Daystrom, the AI analyst inside CounselPro, to trace where the money went, and the forensic report has a probate case type that looks for assets that should be in the estate. More on probate financial work is on the probate practice area page.
Holding an accounting that does not add up? Your first 50 pages are free, so start with the bank and credit card statements for the months it covers and hold each schedule up against the rows.
