Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Alabama

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Two current articles supply different parts of the inventory duty

Ala. Code § 43-2-835 requires the personal representative to file within two months after appointment. A special administrator is excluded, as is a successor when the predecessor already discharged the duty. Although ordinary administration proceeds without routine court direction under § 43-2-834, the inventory is an express filing duty.

The inventory must describe property owned by the decedent at death in reasonable detail. Each listed item carries its fair market value as of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance. Section 43-2-312 adds an older but still-current itemization rule for debts or demands due or accruing to the decedent: the inventory states when each is due, its amount and evidence, any credits, the debtor's name, and the amount of money.

The representative subscribes an oath

Section 43-2-313 requires the executor or administrator to take and subscribe an oath that the inventory is full and complete as to decedent property that has come to the representative's knowledge or possession. The oath is administered by the probate judge, a justice of the peace, or a notary public of the county. The statute does not prescribe a separate appraiser signature or certification.

An appraiser is an optional assistant

The inventory statutes place the valuation duty on the personal representative. Ala. Code § 43-2-843(17) permits the representative to employ necessary persons, including appraisers, to advise or assist with administration. It expressly allows an employed person to be associated with the personal representative and permits reliance on an agent's recommendation without an independent investigation.

The cited provisions do not require a court-appointed, qualified, or disinterested appraiser for every estate or for any identified asset class. They also state no separate appraisal deadline. If a supplement relies on an appraiser or other data, § 43-2-836 requires that basis to be identified.

Filing can be waived, but statutory protection routes remain

An express will provision can exempt the personal representative from filing the initial inventory and its supplements. Section 43-2-835 keeps court filing available when, in the court's opinion, likely waste would prejudice an interested person. Section 43-2-311 states a parallel rule for an executor and also permits an executor, heir, legatee, or other interested person to make an affidavit alleging that the person's interest is or will be endangered for want of security.

The waiver provisions address filing. Section 43-2-835 separately requires the representative to send a copy of the inventory to interested persons who request it. The statute states no automatic copy for every heir, devisee, or creditor and no inventory-specific confidentiality rule.

New property and material errors require a supplement

Ala. Code § 43-2-836 applies when omitted property becomes known or the representative learns that an item's value or description is erroneous or misleading. The supplement gives the new or revised death-date market value or description and identifies any appraisers or other data relied on.

The disclosure route follows the initial inventory. If the initial inventory was filed, the supplement is filed; otherwise, copies go to persons interested in the new information. Section 43-2-836 states no separate correction deadline.

What trips people up

The debt schedule is not optional detail. Section 43-2-312 requires more than a lump receivables total: it calls for each debt or demand, its due time, amount, evidence, credits, and debtor.

A will waiver is not absolute. The court's likely-waste finding can restore filing, and § 43-2-311 separately describes an interested-person affidavit route based on endangered interests and lack of security.

Inventory failure can threaten the appointment. Ala. Code § 43-2-290 makes failure to make and return inventories an express cause for removal and revocation of letters. Section 43-2-293 requires a removal application to be written, oath-verified, specific about the grounds, and brought by one of the listed interested parties or fiduciary sureties.

Common questions

Does Alabama require a professional appraisal for real estate?

The cited inventory provisions do not single out real estate or require a professional appraisal. Section 43-2-843(17) permits the representative to hire an appraiser as an administrative assistant.

Does every interested person automatically receive the inventory?

No. Section 43-2-835(b) requires a copy for an interested person who requests one. The court-filing rule is separate.

What valuation date applies to newly discovered property?

The date of death. Section 43-2-836 keeps the same market-value date for a new item and for a corrected value.

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code §§ 43-2-290 and -293 — inventory failure as a removal cause and the verified removal-application procedure: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/graphql (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-2-311 to -313 — will exemption, required debt and demand details, and the representative's subscribed oath: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/graphql (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-2-834 to -836 and 43-2-843(17) — administration route, initial inventory, copy and waiver rules, supplements, and employment of appraisers: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/graphql (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Alabama Administrative Office of Courts probate-forms index — current statewide form catalog, which does not list a decedent-estate inventory: https://eforms.alacourt.gov/probate-forms/ (accessed 2026-08-10).