Passing of Accounts: How Executors Account to Court

What Passing of Accounts Means

Passing of accounts gives formal court approval to the executor’s record of estate administration after examination. A registrar performs that examination in jurisdictions such as New South Wales. Queensland uses a court-appointed account assessor before the court passes the account.

Filing and passing are separate acts. Filing puts the accounts on the court file. Passing involves examination and a decision approving them. An application can also seek executor commission, although the procedure for commission differs between states. The executor commission guide explains that separate decision.

An informal estate audit or accountant’s review checks the records for the person who commissioned it. It does not itself produce a court order passing the accounts. A beneficiary can seek clarification through that review and still raise an objection in court.

When Accounts Must Be Passed

An applicable court order or state rule can make passing compulsory. A beneficiary’s unanswered request for accounts or an unresolved objection can lead to an application for that order. An application for commission can also bring the accounts before the court.

Every estate needs proper records, even when formal passing is unnecessary. In NSW, the Supreme Court says most estates do not require court passing. Its guidance also distinguishes compulsory filing in specified circumstances from a request to pass accounts. The NSW court guidance explains those triggers.

Beneficiaries can accept the accounts and agree to release the executor where the agreement validly covers their interests. Give them the accounts and supporting explanation before seeking that agreement. A release must address the people bound by it, their capacity and the matters released. It cannot cancel an existing court order, remove a statutory filing duty or bind a beneficiary who is not a party.

In Western Australia, section 43 of the Administration Act 1903 sets the duty to file an inventory and pass accounts as prescribed or ordered. Section 44 provides a notice and enforcement process for failure to account. Rule 37 requires executors and administrators, other than the Public Trustee, to file accounts within 12 months of the grant unless further time is allowed. Use the WA Administration Act alongside the probate rules when identifying that duty.

Preparing the Estate Accounts

Prepare estate accounts that explain the opening estate, every receipt and payment, distributions and what remains. Obtain the grant and will, the relevant order, complete statements and documents supporting the transactions before drafting the verifying affidavit.

1. Establish the opening inventory. Record each asset and liability at death, including each bank balance. Keep the evidence of ownership and value with the inventory. Explain assets discovered later.
2. Record receipts. Separate money collected from existing estate assets from income earned during administration. Link each receipt to its statement entry and supporting record, such as a sale settlement statement.
3. Record payments. State the recipient, amount and purpose of each payment. Number the vouchers and connect each expense to its invoice, receipt or other evidence of payment.
4. Record distributions. Identify the beneficiary and entitlement for each cash payment or asset transfer. Retain acknowledgements and transfer documents. Show an asset distributed directly as an asset transfer, not a bank payment.
5. Reconcile the closing position. Match cash to the closing statements and list retained assets, investments and unpaid liabilities separately. Account for every opening asset through sale, distribution or retention.

Reconcile each bank account separately before consolidating the estate totals. Match every bank movement to a ledger entry and every cash entry to the bank record. Show transfers between estate accounts on both sides without counting them again as estate income or spending.

In this hypothetical Australian-dollar example, an account starts with $40,000, receives $15,000 and pays expenses of $5,000. A $20,000 beneficiary distribution leaves $30,000. The statement must support that closing balance. If $10,000 then moves to another estate account, the first account closes at $20,000 and the second receives $10,000. Total estate cash remains $30,000.

A difference calls for a specific check. Compare the statement periods first, then look for omitted charges, duplicate entries or a transfer recorded on only one side. Keep an actual timing difference in a reconciliation schedule and explain when it clears. Never use an unexplained adjustment to force the totals to match.

Combine pre-death and estate statements in a structured working ledger, with the administration period clearly identified. Pre-death records help establish opening balances and explain movements into the estate. The deceased estate bank account guide covers the statement collection, and the bank statement reconciliation guide develops the matching method.

Keep the date-of-death opening position separate from earlier transactions under review and later administration activity. Preserve the transaction date and posting date where the statement supplies both. A payment initiated before death but posted afterwards needs an explanation of that timing, not automatic classification as an administration expense.

For a hypothetical example, a pre-death account holds $25,000 at death, and the bank later transfers that balance into the estate account. Record the opening asset and its later collection without treating the transfer as new income. A disputed $3,000 payment made before death remains a separately identified review item with its source reference and the executor’s explanation. Do not silently add it to administration expenses. Any proposed recovery needs its own treatment and supporting evidence in the accounts.

FinTrace saves hours of statement conversion and review by consolidating supplied PDFs into a searchable Excel ledger and a clear findings report. Lawyers and forensic accountants can filter transactions across accounts, with source references giving direct access to the supporting statements. The analysis also flags suspicious transactions and gaps in the supplied records. Use the working ledger to prepare the receipts and payments schedules required for the estate.

Filing and Examination by the Registrar

File the required account schedules and verifying affidavit, then complete the notice steps before examination. Keep the filed version fixed and identify any later correction. Number the supporting vouchers so the examiner can move from an account item to its evidence.

The local sequence matters. A NSW form or notice period cannot be applied automatically to a Queensland or WA estate.

• In NSW, Part 78 Division 11 governs passing under section 85 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898. The court’s guidance identifies UCPR Form 150 for the motion and affidavit. It requires an Online Registry notice at least 14 days before filing the motion. The registrar examines the accounts and can request further evidence.
• In Queensland, Chapter 15 Part 10 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules governs assessment and passing. Rules 645 and 646 cover a beneficiary’s application and prior written request or objection. Rule 647 covers the executor’s application. An appointed account assessor examines the account, and rule 657B provides for the court to pass it after the assessment certificate is filed.
• In Victoria, rule 6.03 of the Administration and Probate Rules allows the court or registrar to require an affidavit-verified account in Form 3-6AA. For commission applications, rules 10.02 and 10.03 require a summons, supporting affidavit and administration account. Directions under rule 10.06 determine service and further procedure.
• For passing of accounts in Western Australia, rule 37 of the Non-contentious Probate Rules is the specific probate procedure. It covers affidavit-verified accounts in Form 4, notice and objections before the registrar. The Rules of the Supreme Court 1971 provide the wider procedural framework. Follow any directions made in the estate proceeding.

Before filing, confirm that the affidavit covers the same period as the schedules. The closing cash must match the reconciled statements, and every distributed or retained asset must appear in the accounts. Complete the required notice or service and retain proof of compliance.

Objections From Beneficiaries

A beneficiary objects by identifying a disputed account item or omission and explaining the factual or legal reason. Attach the evidence that supports the objection. A general complaint about the executor gives the examiner less to decide than a numbered challenge to a particular payment.

In NSW, an intended objection can be filed before the passing proceedings under Part 78 rule 78. A disallowed disbursement can result in reimbursement to the estate under section 85(4). Wider disputes about estate administration can require separate proceedings.

Queensland rule 646 requires numbered objections identifying the item or omission and concise reasons. After assessment, rule 657B permits an affidavit-supported challenge to the assessor’s decision before passing. In WA, rule 37 requires an objection notice and an affidavit stating the objector’s interest and grounds before the passing day. Victorian commission proceedings use the objection procedure in rule 10.07 and the court’s directions.

For each objection, prepare a response matching the same item number. State the executor’s explanation and identify the voucher or statement page that supports it. If an item is disallowed, record the resulting correction and any ordered repayment in the estate records. Use the court’s decision to update the closing position before further distribution.

Estate Accounts and Their Supporting Records

An estate bank account records cash held at a bank. Complete administration accounts explain what happened to every estate asset, including property distributed directly and investments still held. A bank statement alone cannot establish that the executor has accounted for the entire estate.

Keep the opening inventory beside schedules of receipts, payments and distributions, followed by the closing assets and liabilities. Separate capital and income where the local rules require it. NSW’s court guidance requires cash-basis accounts identifying entries as capital or income. Queensland rule 648 describes the inventory and distributions, with remaining assets reconciled to the estate’s net balance. It also gives a chronological spreadsheet example separating capital and income components.

For each cash movement, retain the account identifier, statement page and bank entry alongside the voucher reference. An invoice explains the purpose and amount charged, while the statement establishes the payment. A distribution also needs the beneficiary’s entitlement and receipt or transfer evidence. For non-cash assets, retain the ownership and valuation records and evidence of any sale or transfer.

Before presenting the accounts, trace each opening asset to its closing treatment and each cash entry to the bank record and voucher. Explain timing differences in the reconciliation and retain the documents supporting any correction. The schedules are ready for examination when their cash balances agree with the reconciled statements and the remaining estate assets are accounted for.