Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Minnesota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The deadline uses two clocks and the later date wins

Minn. Stat. § 524.3-706 measures from both appointment and death. The inventory is due by the later of six months after appointment or nine months after the decedent's death. A special administrator is excluded, as is a successor when the prior representative already discharged the inventory duty.

The section directs the representative to prepare and “file or mail” the inventory. It does not state an extension standard. The filing and private-copy routes therefore should not be collapsed into a universal court-filing rule.

Content is itemized at fair market value as of death

The inventory covers property owned by the decedent at death. Section 524.3-706 requires reasonable detail and, for each item, fair market value as of the date of death plus the type and amount of any encumbrance. It does not prescribe asset-class schedules or a separate valuation formula.

Filing changes the verification requirement

Section 524.3-706 does not itself require an oath, affidavit, or verification. Minn. Stat. § 524.1-310 separately requires every document filed with the court under chapter 524 to be verified, unless a rule waives verification or the attorney-signed-pleading exception applies. The signing party may use either an unsworn penalty-of-perjury declaration or an affidavit.

Minn. Stat. § 358.116 supplies a non-notarized declaration route for court documents. That filing rule should not be presented as an express execution formality for an inventory that is only mailed.

Professional appraisal is optional

Minn. Stat. § 524.3-707 permits the representative to employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser when an asset's value may be subject to reasonable doubt. Different appraisers may handle different kinds of property. The inventory identifies an appraiser's name and address with the items appraised.

The statute does not require an appraiser certificate, signature, license, or appraisal report, and it states no separate appraisal deadline.

Copies are mandatory for two recipient groups

The surviving spouse and every residuary distributee receive a mailed or delivered copy without having to request one. Interested persons and creditors receive a copy when they request it. A representative who is personally in one of the automatic recipient groups need not send a copy to themself.

Section 524.3-706 does not state a separate copy-delivery deadline or a confidentiality rule.

New information requires a supplementary inventory

Minn. Stat. § 524.3-708 applies when omitted property becomes known or an original value or description proves erroneous or misleading. The supplement states the new or revised death-date market value or description and identifies any appraiser or other data relied on.

The representative furnishes copies or information to people interested in the new information and files the supplement if the original inventory was filed. The section states no separate correction deadline. Failure to perform an inventory duty can fall within § 524.3-611's removal-for-cause rule, but the inventory sections state no automatic fine.

What trips people up

The appointment clock is not always controlling. A representative appointed soon after death may find that nine months after death is later than six months after appointment.

Automatic delivery is broader than request-only access. The spouse and residuary distributees receive copies without requesting them; other interested persons and creditors must request a copy.

A supplementary filing follows the original route. If the original was filed, the supplement is filed. Section 524.3-708 otherwise focuses on copies or information for persons interested in the correction.

Common questions

Must the inventory always be filed with the probate court?

No. Section 524.3-706 says to prepare and file or mail the inventory. It then requires delivery to the spouse, residuary distributees, and qualifying requesters.

Does the mailed inventory need notarization?

Section 524.3-706 states no notarization requirement. Sections 524.1-310 and 358.116 address verification of court-filed documents and allow an unsworn penalty-of-perjury declaration without notarization.

Who gets an updated inventory after a correction?

Section 524.3-708 requires copies or information for persons interested in the new information. The supplement also must be filed if the original inventory was filed.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 524.3-706 — deadline, property, values, encumbrances, filing or mailing, and recipients: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.3-706 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Minn. Stat. §§ 524.3-707 to -708 — optional appraisers and supplementary inventory: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.3-707 and https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.3-708 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Minn. Stat. § 524.1-310 and § 358.116 — verification and non-notarized declaration routes for filed court documents: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.1-310 and https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/358.116 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Minn. Stat. § 524.3-611 — removal for cause, including failure to perform a duty of office: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.3-611 (accessed 2026-08-10).