If you do one bookkeeping thing before anything else as an executor, make it this: open a bank account that belongs to the estate, not to you. Most of the accounting pain executors run into traces back to one decision — letting estate money and personal money share an account. Separating them at the start turns a reconstruction project into simple record-keeping.
When estate money runs through your personal account, every grocery run and paycheck sits next to the estate's transactions — and at accounting time, you (or someone you pay) will have to untangle them line by line, months later, from memory. Executors are commonly expected to account to beneficiaries, and sometimes to a court, for everything that came in and went out. With a mixed account, that accounting becomes a forensic exercise instead of a printout. It also invites questions: even a perfectly honest executor is harder to see as honest when estate funds sat in a personal account. One dedicated account removes the whole category of problem before it starts.
Requirements vary by bank and by jurisdiction, so call the branch before you go — but two things come up almost everywhere. First, proof of your authority: the document a court or probate registry issues confirming you can act for the estate, known in different places as letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a grant of probate or representation. Second, a tax identification number for the estate itself — in many places the estate is its own taxpayer, and the account shouldn't sit under your personal number. Banks also commonly want a certified copy of the death certificate and your own ID. One phone call to ask what they need saves a second trip.
Once the account exists, it becomes the estate's front door. Money in: final paychecks, refunds, closed-out accounts, dividends, sale proceeds. Money out: funeral costs, utilities on the house, insurance premiums, professional fees, and eventually distributions to beneficiaries. The discipline that matters is no exceptions — not the small purchase on your own card because it was quicker, not the refund deposited to your account because the check was in your hand. Every exception is a future line you'll have to explain from memory instead of pointing to on a statement.
Here is the payoff. With one dedicated account, the monthly bank statement is a complete, dated, third-party record of everything the estate did. Reconciliation stops being a project and becomes a habit: once a month, match your ledger against the statement and chase anything that doesn't line up while it's still fresh. When a beneficiary asks where the money went, or a court wants an accounting, your answer is statements plus receipts — not a spreadsheet you assembled after the fact. Records a bank produced are simply easier for everyone to trust, including you, on the day you want to be finished.
Almost every executor pays something personally before the account exists; the funeral home rarely waits for paperwork. You haven't done anything wrong. Keep the receipt for each expense, note the date, the amount, and what it was for, and once the estate account is open, reimburse yourself with a clearly labeled transfer — ideally one transfer per expense, or one batch with an itemized list behind it. What counts as a properly reimbursable estate expense can vary by jurisdiction, so if something feels borderline, note it and ask the estate's lawyer or the beneficiaries before paying yourself back, not after. Receipts turn "I paid for that" into a record no one has to take on faith.
The bank statement is the raw record; the accounting is what you build from it. EstateLedger is a builder for exactly that: enter each deposit and payment as it happens — or once a month with the statement in front of you — categorize it, and the schedules an estate accounting commonly needs assemble themselves and stay in balance. Building and checking your accounting is free; you pay a flat $12 only if you want to export the finished schedules as a spreadsheet, and your numbers stay on your own device either way. Ten minutes a month against the statement now beats a shoebox reconstruction at the end.
You can, but careful notes are exactly the work a dedicated account does for you automatically. A mixed account means separating estate transactions from your own for as long as the estate stays open, and it can raise questions from beneficiaries even when everything was handled honestly. Many jurisdictions and institutions also expect estate funds to be kept separate — check what applies to you. If the estate has any real activity, the dedicated account is almost always the lighter path.
It's extremely common, and good records make it straightforward to handle: keep the invoice and proof you paid it, then reimburse yourself from the estate account once it's open, with a transfer labeled to match the expense. If you're unsure whether a particular expense is properly payable by the estate, ask the estate's lawyer or the beneficiaries before reimbursing yourself rather than after.
Some places offer simplified procedures for smaller estates, so check what applies in your jurisdiction. But the bookkeeping logic doesn't change with size: one account still means one statement, one monthly reconciliation, and one clear answer when someone asks where the money went. Many banks offer estate accounts with low or no monthly fees, so it's worth asking before assuming it's a burden.
EstateLedger is a running ledger for executors: entries go in as they happen, charges and credits stay visible, and the balance check diagnoses what kind of entry is missing when they diverge. Free to build and check; $12 once to export the schedules. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing uploaded.
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