Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Missouri

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Combined filing and 30-day clock

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.233 requires one written instrument combining the inventory and appraisement. The representative must make and return it within 30 days after letters are granted, unless the court grants a longer time.

This is a court-returned inventory. The statute provides no alternative initial route based on privately serving the instrument instead of returning it.

Property classes and ownership disclosures

The inventory covers all decedent property, including exempt property, that comes to the representative's possession or knowledge, plus all other property the decedent possessed at death. It states known encumbrances, liens, and other charges and sorts property into seven statutory classes.

The classifications add details that a generic asset list can miss. Real estate uses a plat or survey description, location information, and any popular name. Stock identifies the issuer, share count, and class. Debt instruments identify the debtor, interest due, recording data, and other identifiers. A partnership interest states the decedent's proportionate share and net value, without itemizing partnership assets.

Property possessed but not owned by the decedent is still listed, but separately, with the representative's knowledge about ownership. Furniture, household goods, and wearing apparel do not require a detailed item-by-item listing or appraisement.

Affidavits and optional appraisal help

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.237, the representative and any appraisers annex an affidavit covering the inventory's completeness and the appraisement of property subject to appraisal. The representative adds a second affidavit disclosing any debt or contract obligation to the decedent. The representative may administer the oaths required by §§ 473.233 and 473.237; the statute does not require a notary to administer them.

A judge or clerk may authorize a qualified and disinterested appraiser when it appears necessary for an asset whose value may reasonably be in doubt. That appraiser determines fair market value as of death. Different appraisers may handle different asset types, and each name and address appears with the relevant items.

The inventory statutes do not separately state a valuation date or measure for an item the representative values without this authorized appraiser route.

Later property, corrected inventories, and enforcement

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.240 requires a similar additional inventory and appraisement when other real or personal estate later comes into the representative's possession or knowledge. It states no separate number of days for that filing.

Section 473.840.3 recognizes supplementary and corrected inventories in independent administration and requires copies to be mailed to each interested party with the closing papers. It does not supply the trigger or deadline for a corrected inventory.

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.140, failure to discharge official duties is one ground on which the court may revoke letters after the stated complaint, notice, and hearing procedure.

What trips people up

Encumbrances are separate disclosures. Section 473.233 does not direct the representative to subtract them from every property's appraised value or produce a statutory net-estate total.

The affidavit provision does not require an outside notary. Section 473.237 expressly allows the administrator or executor to administer the required oaths.

Later-discovered property belongs under § 473.240, not § 473.233. Missouri calls for a similar additional inventory and appraisement but gives it no separate deadline.

Common questions

Must household goods be itemized one by one?

No. Section 473.233 expressly says furniture, household goods, and wearing apparel require neither a detailed appraisement nor a detailed listing.

Is a professional appraiser always required?

No. A judge or clerk may authorize a qualified, disinterested appraiser when it appears necessary for a reasonably doubtful value.

Who receives a copy of the inventory?

The initial statute requires the inventory to be returned to the court and states no universal initial service list. In independent administration, § 473.840.3 later requires original, supplementary, and corrected inventory copies to be mailed to interested parties with the closing papers.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.233 — deadline, combined instrument, property scope and classes, encumbrances, and optional authorized appraisers: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.233 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.237 — representative and appraiser affidavits, representative debt/contract disclosure, and oath administration: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.237 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.240 — additional inventory and appraisement for later property: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.240 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.840.3 — independent-administration closing copies of original, supplementary, and corrected inventories: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.840 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.140 — revocation of letters for failure to discharge official duties and other grounds: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.140 (accessed 2026-08-10).