The AI Executor

Guide · Maryland estates

How to organize bank statements for the first Account

By The AI Executor · Last checked 5 October 2026 · How we write our guides

The Account reports every dollar that moved through the estate’s probate assets, from the date of death to the end of the Account period. In a regular estate, the first Account is generally due within 9 months after the personal representative’s appointment (Estates and Trusts §7-305). Most of the work is the bank statements. Here is a way to get them in order.

1. Run everything through one estate account

The Maryland Judiciary’s tip sheet tells personal representatives to open a new account in the name of the estate (“Estate of” followed by the decedent’s name), move the decedent’s funds into it, pay estate expenses from it, and deposit everything the estate receives into it, never into your own account. One account makes the Account far easier to follow.

The bank will ask for the estate’s EIN to open it. The IRS issues an EIN free online, usually immediately; by mail on Form SS-4 it takes about 4 weeks.

2. List every account, then every statement

Start from the Inventory: the first Account starts from the values reported on it. For each account on it, plus the estate account, list every statement from the one covering the date of death to the end of the Account period. Some accounts send monthly statements and some quarterly, so count what each account actually issues rather than assuming twelve a year.

A simple file name for each one saves time later, for example the bank, the last four digits and the statement month.

3. Fill the gaps

Missing months are normal. Banks can send copies:

• Bank of America lists statement copies and check copies at no fee (personal schedule of fees effective 7 August 2026).
• Wells Fargo lists a $0 document copy fee for statements and check images on its Everyday Checking fee summary; other account types may differ.
• Capital One asks estates to request statements in the Letter of Instruction or by email with the case number.

We found no bank that publishes how long copies take, so ask for every missing month in one request.

4. Keep the proof for every payment

The Register of Wills’ sample Account says the auditor may ask for vouchers, such as cancelled checks, invoices or bank statements, to support payments, and may ask for the estate account’s statements. The court’s tip sheet says to keep checks, bank statements and receipts. Keep each receipt with the statement month it was paid in. Our first Account checklist lists the other records you’ll need.

5. Check that it balances

The Account has to balance. In the Register’s sample, the totals of the first four schedules (what the estate started with, what it received and any gains on sales) equal the totals of the last three (what it paid out, what it distributed and what is left). In plain terms: starting values, plus money in, minus money out, must equal what is left. If it doesn’t, a statement, a deposit or a payment is usually missing.

Sources

• Register of Wills, Sample Account (May 2025)
• Maryland Code, Estates and Trusts §7-305 (Accounts)
• Register of Wills, Administering Estates in Maryland (2025)
• Maryland Judiciary tip sheet: managing the estate and filing an Account
• IRS Publication 559 and IRS information for executors
• Bank pages (examples, not endorsements): Bank of America schedule of fees, Wells Fargo Everyday Checking fees, Capital One estates

General information, not legal or tax advice. Bank fees and policies change; check with each bank. For how the law applies to a particular estate, ask an attorney, a CPA or the Register of Wills.