Because of Harold's helpful comment, it may be important to speak a tad about testate inventories. Though not always, those are widely ordered by courts where the decedent has directed that some asset or assets having values not easily determinable for some period after the death, short of agreement, court order or sale, such as slaves, crops and businesses, agreements that are contingent upon some future event such as a child reaching maturity, where one or more legatees do not fully trust the executor or his/her co-legatees, and also because almost all wills have a so-called "rest and residue" provision.

Where there is such a will provision, it usually appears near the end of the will, and provides that should any assets or funds remain after the debts and costs are paid and the bequests and devises are accomplished, then that residue is to be disposed of by the terms of that residue clause.  Since what constitutes such a residue often can not be determined without an inventory revealing what assets were owned at the moment of death, such an inventory sometimes becomes very valuable in the courts' determinations.

Paul

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