Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Oklahoma

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing route and deadline

Under 58 O.S. § 281, the default is an inventory and/or appraisement returned to the court within two months after the appointment order, unless the court orders otherwise. The court may extend the filing time for good cause. The statute's “and/or” language matters: it should not be rewritten as an absolute command that every estate always obtain both a separate inventory and an outside appraisal.

Who values, signs, and swears

The personal representative may satisfy the appraisement requirement by stating an opinion of the value of the estate described in the inventory. But 58 O.S. § 287 separately says the inventory must be signed by the appraisers and requires the executor or administrator to swear before an officer authorized to administer oaths that it truthfully covers the known and possessed estate, money, and claims against the representative. The oath must be endorsed on or attached to the inventory.

Property and value details

When statutory appraisers act, 58 O.S. § 283 requires each article and its value in dollars and cents, plus all real and personal estate, debts, partnership and other interests, bonds, mortgages, notes, and other money-payment securities. For each security, the inventory supplies the debtor, date, original amount, endorsements and dates, and the amount the appraisers judge collectible.

58 O.S. § 284 adds all decedent money that reached the representative's hands, or a statement that there was none. A money-only estate does not need an appraisement, but still needs an inventory. Claims involving the executor can also be easy to overlook: 58 O.S. § 285 requires inclusion of the testator's just claim against the named executor, and 58 O.S. § 286 requires inclusion of a debt or demand that the will discharges or bequeaths.

The ordinary provisions let the representative state an opinion of value and tell appraisers how to list values and collectible amounts. They do not specify a valuation date, so a date-of-death valuation rule should not be added to this inventory from a different procedure or tax rule.

When court-appointed appraisers take over

Under 58 O.S. § 281, a written demand from an heir, devisee, legatee, creditor who has filed a claim, guardian, conservator, guardian ad litem, or another interested person requires the court to order an inventory and/or appraisement. For an ordered appraisement, 58 O.S. § 282 requires the judge to appoint three disinterested people, any two of whom may act. Their compensation may not exceed $75 per day without a court order, and they file a verified services-and-disbursements account with the inventory.

Before valuing property, the appraisers take and subscribe the oath prescribed by 58 O.S. § 283 and attach it to the inventory. Property in another county may be valued by the same appraisers or by others appointed by the judge of the district court that issued the letters; the report goes directly to that issuing court.

Notice, recipients, and access

The demand right is not an inventory-service rule. Sections 281-289 identify who may force an order but do not state that the completed inventory must be served on every interested person. They also do not state an inventory-specific sealing, confidentiality, or inspection rule.

What trips people up

The later-property cite and clock are specific. Under 58 O.S. § 289—not § 285—the representative must have newly known or possessed property appraised under the article and return an additional inventory within two months after discovery. After notice, the court may enforce that duty by attachment or removal from office.

The same section addresses omitted property, not every possible correction. Sections 281-289 do not state a separate deadline or form for revising an item that was listed but valued incorrectly, so the additional-inventory rule should not be presented as a complete statutory answer for every valuation dispute.

Common questions

Can the personal representative use an opinion of value?

Yes. 58 O.S. § 281 permits that method for appraisement. A qualifying written demand changes the route because it requires a court order and, for an ordered appraisement, the statutory appraiser procedure.

Is an appraisement needed if the estate is only money?

No. 58 O.S. § 284 removes the appraisement requirement for a money-only estate, but it expressly preserves the inventory requirement.

Does the representative sign under penalty of perjury?

The inventory statute uses a different formality. 58 O.S. § 287 requires an oath taken and subscribed before an officer authorized to administer oaths, endorsed on or attached to the inventory.

Statutes and sources

• 58 O.S. § 281 — initial inventory/appraisement, deadline, representative value, and demand. “The personal representative may fulfill the appraisement requirement by stating his opinion of the value of the estate described in the inventory.” Current Official Oklahoma Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
• 58 O.S. §§ 282-283 — court-appointed appraisers and their oath and duties. “To make the appraisement, the judge must appoint three disinterested persons, any two of whom may act.” § 282; § 283 (accessed August 10, 2026).
• 58 O.S. §§ 284-286 — money and debt claims. “If the whole estate consists of money, there need not be an appraisement, but an inventory must be made and returned as in other cases.” § 284; § 285; § 286 (accessed August 10, 2026).
• 58 O.S. § 287 — signed, sworn return. “The oath must be endorsed upon or annexed to the inventory.” Current Official Oklahoma Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
• 58 O.S. § 289 — additional inventory and enforcement. “Whenever property not mentioned in an inventory that is made and filed, comes to the possession or knowledge of an executor or administrator, he must cause the same to be appraised in the manner prescribed in this article, and an inventory thereof to be returned within two (2) months after the discovery.” Current Official Oklahoma Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).