How to Create an Estate Inventory
The Foundation of Fair Division

Before You Walk Into the House: A Pre-Inventory Checklist

The first visit to the deceased's home sets the tone for the entire estate. Walking in unprepared almost guarantees that small items get moved, photographs get taken haphazardly, and someone later asks "where did Dad's watch go?" with no clear answer. Before the first visit: confirm in writing which family members are coming, bring a camera (a phone is fine), labels or tape, a notebook, and a single shared cloud folder where every photo goes immediately. Agree out loud that nothing leaves the house on the first visit, regardless of who wants it or why.

If possible, two beneficiaries should do the first walkthrough together. Solo inventories — even by the executor — are the single most common trigger for later accusations of hidden assets. Two-person walkthroughs eliminate that problem entirely.

Room-by-Room: What Gets Missed and Why

Kitchen. Open every drawer. Cash, jewelry, and important documents are stored in kitchen drawers more often than people expect. Check freezer compartments — cash and small valuables are hidden there surprisingly often.

Bedroom. Under the mattress, inside pillow cases, taped to the bottom of drawers. Check every coat pocket in the closet. Don't forget jewelry boxes within jewelry boxes.

Office / desk. Look for safe deposit box keys, account statements, life insurance policies, and lists of online accounts with passwords. These determine what other inventories you'll need to create later.

Basement / attic. Boxes that haven't been opened in decades often contain the most sentimentally valuable items. Take time. Don't toss anything until at least two family members have looked.

Outside the home. Storage units, items lent to friends, vehicles parked elsewhere, safe deposit boxes, items in repair shops. Estates routinely miss 5–15% of their value by forgetting to inventory locations outside the primary residence.

How to Photograph Items So They Hold Up Later

A blurry phone snapshot is almost worse than no photo at all — it proves the item existed but doesn't capture enough detail to identify it, value it, or confirm its condition months later. For each item: one wide shot showing the item in context, one straight-on shot of the whole item, and one close-up of any maker's mark, signature, serial number, or distinctive feature. For jewelry, art, and collectibles, photograph any documentation that came with the item.

Save every photo to a shared cloud folder named with the room and item number ("01-living-room-painting-03.jpg"). The naming convention sounds tedious but pays off enormously when an appraiser, attorney, or sibling asks "do we have a picture of the blue vase?" three months later. A complete photographic record is one of the strongest defenses an executor can have against any future accusation of mishandling the estate.