What is a date-of-death balance?

The date-of-death balance is the value of an account as of the day the owner died. For a bank account it's the balance on that date; for investments it's typically the market value on that date. These figures are the starting point of the estate inventory and the estate accounting, and they're often used to set the new tax basis of inherited assets.

How do I get a date-of-death bank balance?

Ask the bank, in writing, for the balance of each account as of the date of death — many banks have a bereavement or estate department that can issue a date-of-death balance letter. You can also read it from the statement covering that date. For a precise figure you generally want the ledger or available balance on the exact date, not just the month-end balance.

Why does the date-of-death balance matter?

It's the opening figure your whole accounting is built on. Every account's reconciliation works from its date-of-death balance: opening balance plus the activity afterward should equal the closing balance. If the opening figure is wrong, nothing downstream will reconcile. The date-of-death value is also commonly used for estate tax reporting and to establish the basis of inherited property.

Date-of-Death Account Balance: How to Get the Bank's Letter

Almost every estate task — the inventory, the tax filings, the final accounting — starts from the same number: what each account was worth on the day the person died. That figure is the date-of-death balance, and getting it right at the start saves you from chasing discrepancies at the end.

What "date of death" value means

The date-of-death value of an asset is what it was worth as of the date the owner died:

Bank accounts: the account balance on that date.
Investments: generally the market value on that date.
Other property: its fair value as of that date, sometimes by appraisal.

These values do double duty: they open your accounting, and they're commonly used for estate tax purposes and to set the new "basis" of inherited assets.

How to get the bank's figure

For each of the decedent's accounts, ask the bank — in writing — for the balance as of the date of death. Many banks have a bereavement or estate desk that will issue a date-of-death balance letter, which is exactly the kind of clean documentation you want in your file. If you're reading it off a statement yourself, use the balance on the exact date, and be aware of the difference between the ledger balance and pending transactions.

Tip: request the statement that spans the date of death, plus every statement after it through the day the account was closed. The date-of-death balance is your opening figure; those later statements are the activity you'll reconcile against it.

What to ask the bank for — a request you can copy

Most people ask for "the balance" and end up going back three more times for things they didn't know to request. Ask for all of it at once. Send this to the bank's estate or bereavement desk, on paper or through their secure message system, and keep a copy for the file:

Re: Estate of [full legal name], who died on [date of death]
Account(s) ending [last four digits]

I am the executor / personal representative of this estate. A certified copy of the death certificate and my Letters Testamentary are enclosed.

Please provide, in writing:

1. The balance of each account listed above as of the close of business on [date of death], including any interest accrued but not yet credited.
2. Statements for each account covering the period from [date of death] to the present, and for the statement period that spans the date of death.
3. Confirmation of any transactions that were pending or in transit on that date.
4. Confirmation of how each account is titled, and whether any joint owner, payable-on-death beneficiary or trust designation is recorded on it.
5. Details of any safe deposit box, loan, or other product held in this name.

Please confirm if a form or fee is required.

Point 4 is the one people skip, and it can change everything. An account held jointly with right of survivorship, or with a payable-on-death beneficiary named, usually passes directly to that person and never becomes part of the probate estate at all. If you put it in your accounting as an estate asset you will have to unwind it later — and if you distribute it, you may have paid the wrong person. Establish how each account is titled before you treat its balance as the estate's money.

If the bank stalls, ask specifically for the estate services or bereavement department rather than a branch teller — branch staff often cannot produce a dated historical balance, while that team does it every day. Requests are normally free; some institutions charge a small research fee for older statements.

Date-of-death valuation letter and valuing investments

Banks issue a date-of-death balance letter for cash accounts, but brokerages and other institutions issue what's usually called a date-of-death valuation letter (or date-of-death statement) — a written confirmation of what the holdings were worth on that date. Ask each institution's estate desk for one; it's the cleanest documentation to keep in your file.

Valuing the pieces:

Stock and fund values by date of death. Publicly traded securities are generally valued at their market price on the date of death. A common convention for tax purposes is the average of the high and low trading price that day; if the date fell on a weekend or holiday when markets were closed, the nearest trading days are typically used.
Bonds and accrued interest. Value the bond plus any interest accrued up to the date of death.
Real estate and other property. Often needs a dated appraisal establishing fair value as of the date of death.

These date-of-death values also set the new cost basis of inherited assets, which is why getting them documented up front matters well beyond the accounting. The exact valuation rules for tax are technical — confirm them with a tax professional for anything sizable.

Why it's the keystone of reconciliation

An estate accounting reconciles each account with one simple test:

Date-of-death balance + money in − money out = closing balance.

If that equation balances for every account, your accounting ties out. If it doesn't, there's a missing statement, an unrecorded transaction, or a transfer counted twice. But notice: the whole test depends on starting from the correct date-of-death balance. Get that opening number wrong and every account will look "off" by the same amount no matter how carefully you record everything after it.

Don't forget what was already in motion

The date of death is a line in the sand, but money doesn't always stop on cue. Autopays, subscriptions, and pending checks can clear afterward, and benefits like Social Security may post after death and have to be returned. Anchoring to an accurate date-of-death balance is what lets you spot those post-death movements cleanly instead of mistaking them for normal activity.

Let the software hold the line

This is the first thing EstateLedger asks for: each account's balance at the date of death and at closing. It then checks opening + activity = closing for every account and shows you, to the dollar, how much is unexplained — so a wrong or missing figure surfaces immediately, not after you've distributed the money. Every number stays tied to the statement line it came from.

Settling an estate and want the numbers to hold up?

EstateLedger turns the bank statements into a reconciled, traceable accounting — on your own computer, with nothing uploaded anywhere. Reviewing is free; pay only when you export.

Download EstateLedger — free Windows · import, reconcile and review for free · $59 only when you export

Sources

This guide was written from the public, primary sources below. They set out the general rules; they are not a statement of the law of your state and they do not address the facts of your estate.

General information, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Valuation rules — including which date to use and how to value particular assets — vary by situation and for tax purposes. Confirm the specifics with the bank, the relevant tax authority, or a qualified professional before relying on this.

← Back to all guides