Rule 409 Inventory and appraisals

(a) In all estates the personal representative must prepare an Inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death reflecting the fair market value of the property as of the decedent's death and the type and amount of encumbrances on any item. Said Inventory must be delivered or mailed to each interested person within three months after appointment of the personal representative. While the supervised personal representative must file the Inventory with the Court unless excused from filing an inventory pursuant to D.C. Code § 20-731, such filing is discretionary for the unsupervised personal representative, unless otherwise directed by Court.

(b) Use of appraisers. The supervised personal representative shall either make an appointment with the standing appraisers through the Register of Wills Office, or arrange for the use of special appraisers (as defined below), in preparation for the filing of an inventory in accordance with D.C. Code §§ 20-711, and/or 712. The unsupervised personal representative also may use the Court's standing appraisers or any qualified special appraisers in determining fair market value as of the decedent's death.

(c) Valuation of real estate. For purposes of the requirements of D.C. Code §§ 20-711 and 712, both supervised and unsupervised personal representatives may inventory real property at the value placed thereon by the District of Columbia Department of Finance and Revenue for purposes of assessment and taxation for the fiscal year in which the decedent died. If the personal representative determines that any real property should be independently appraised, the fair market value shall be determined by an appraiser selected by the personal representative. Such appraiser shall be licensed or certified and approved by the District of Columbia Board of Appraisers pursuant to D.C. Code § 45-3201 et seq. [§ 42-3901 et seq., 2001 Ed.].

(d) Valuation of securities. Valuation of securities shall be made as of the date of decedent's death and, other than as provided in D.C. Code § 20-712(a)(2), shall be made in accordance with principles set forth in federal estate tax regulations governing the valuation of securities for federal estate tax purposes.

(e) Special appraisers. Special appraisers are defined as appraisers qualified to determine the fair market value of D.C. real and personal property who are not employed by the Court as standing appraisers. Qualified special appraisers shall be used by the supervised personal representative to appraise a decedent's interest in joint ventures, partnerships, business enterprises, cooperative apartments, coins and stamps and any other assets which the Register of Wills has determined that the standing appraisers do not ordinarily appraise.

(f) Inventory form. In supervised administration, the Inventory shall be filed in substantially the following format, and accompanied by a separate Probate Form 27 with complete account numbers, if financial accounts are reported therein. In unsupervised administration the same form may be used: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION ESTATE OF Administration No. ................ ............ Date of death ..................... Date of appointment of personal representative ........... ( ) Supervised estate ( ) Unsupervised estate NOTICE is hereby given that the supervised personal representative of the above estate will file the enclosed Inventory with the Court on or before ................... (Fill in date within 3 months from date of appointment.) INVENTORY Summary A Real property in the District of Columbia $ ..... B Tangible personal ..... C Corporate Stocks ..... D Bonds, notes, mortgages, debts due to the decedent ..... E Bank accounts, building association shares, savings and loan accounts, cash ..... F Debts owed to the decedent by the personal representative ..... G All other interests ..... TOTAL $ ..... Instructions: Complete all pertinent schedules and summary. See D.C. Code §§ 20-711 and 712. VERIFICATION I do solemnly declare and affirm under penalty of law that the contents of this inventory are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, that it has been prepared by me or under my direction, and is to the best of my knowledge a complete inventory of all of the estate of the above named decedent, made in good faith pursuant to District of Columbia law. ............................ ............................ Personal Representative(s) CERTIFICATE There has been mailed or delivered to all interested persons, within the 15 days previous to the filing of this inventory, a copy of the inventory and the appended notice that it would be filed on or before the date stated in said notice. Date: ....... ............................ ............................ Personal Representative(s) or Attorney(s) VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATE OF NOTICE PURSUANT TO SCR-PD 403(b)(4) I do solemnly declare and affirm that I have mailed or caused to be mailed a copy of the notice of appointment and general information statement as required in D.C. Code § 20-704(a) and (b) on the ....... day of ....... 19.., to the following persons: [Attach list of names and addresses of all heirs, legatees, and creditors referred to in D.C. Code § 20-704(b).] I do further solemnly declare and affirm that I have previously filed or file herewith proofs of publication as required by SCR-PD 403(b)(4). ............................ ............................ Personal Representative Dated: ......... Attorney: ....... Sample Schedule (A separate page should be used for each schedule) IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Estate of ......... Administration No. ................ INVENTORY SCHEDULE ................... Item No. Description Value ................................................................... (Include a description of the type and amount of any encumbrance but do not deduct it from value column.) TOTAL $ ......... Appraiser's Verification The property described above has been impartially appraised by me to the best of my skill and judgment and constitutes all of the property of the named decedent of the type encompassed by this schedule of which I have knowledge and with the appraisal of which I have been charged. ............................ Appraiser (Print name) ............................ Appraiser (Signature) ............................ (Address)