An executor finds assets of an estate by working through a set sequence of sources, because no single record lists everything the deceased owned. You search the home and monitor incoming mail, read the last several years of tax returns and bank statements, pull credit reports from all three bureaus, trace digital and cryptocurrency holdings, contact former employers and financial professionals, and run the name through state unclaimed property databases. Each source catches what the others miss, and an executor who overlooks property can be held personally liable for the shortfall.
Start at the Home
The residence is the most productive first stop. You’re looking for two things at once: valuables kept on the premises (cash, jewelry, collectibles, firearms) and paperwork that points to money held elsewhere. Home offices, filing cabinets, closets, and safes are where deeds, vehicle titles, stock certificates, insurance policies, and safe deposit box keys tend to sit. Catalog anything that could have financial value, even if you don’t yet know what it’s worth.
A safe deposit box key sends you to the bank next. Banks freeze the box once notified of the death, so the key alone won’t get you in. You’ll need to present your letters testamentary (or letters of administration if there was no will) along with the death certificate. Some banks allow a limited initial opening just to look for the will; full access to remove contents requires the court paperwork. Hold onto the key and the lease agreement, because losing them means the bank drills the lock at the estate’s expense.
Monitor the deceased’s mail for at least 90 days. Dividend checks, brokerage statements, insurance premium notices, property tax bills, and storage unit invoices all reveal accounts or obligations the deceased may never have mentioned. Redirect the mail to your address through the postal service so nothing gets lost.
Read the Tax Returns and Bank Statements
Tax returns are the single best map of someone’s financial life. If copies aren’t in the home, request transcripts from the IRS using Form 4506-T along with the death certificate and your letters testamentary (or Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship).1Internal Revenue Service. Request Deceased Person’s Information The deceased’s accountant is another source and can walk you through what the returns show.
Look at Schedule B first. It lists every source of interest and dividend income over $1,500, and the payer names correspond directly to bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and corporate stock holdings.2Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends Schedule D reports capital gains and losses from selling stocks, mutual funds, real estate, and other capital assets, which points you to investment accounts and property.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) Compare multiple years, because an account that generated income three years ago but not last year may still exist with a balance.
Bank statements from the 12 to 24 months before death fill in what the returns miss. Recurring outgoing payments reveal active obligations: life insurance premiums, storage unit fees, subscription investment platforms, or loan payments on assets you haven’t found yet. Recurring incoming deposits might point to rental income, pension payments, or annuity distributions. Trace each one to its source and reconcile the returns against the statements so nothing falls through the gap between them.
Pull Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus
Credit reports catch what tax returns and bank statements won’t, particularly debts. Request the deceased’s report from each of the three major bureaus by mailing a copy of the death certificate and proof of your executor appointment.4Experian. How to Obtain a Deceased Person’s Credit Report Request from all three, because not every creditor reports to every bureau.
The reports show open credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and student loans, and they surface assets indirectly. A mortgage you didn’t know about means there’s real property somewhere. An auto loan points to a vehicle. While you’re at it, ask the bureaus to add a deceased indicator to the file, which helps prevent identity theft against the estate.
Trace Digital Accounts and Cryptocurrency
A growing share of wealth exists entirely online, with no paper trail arriving in the mail. Start with the deceased’s email and look for welcome messages, account confirmations, or electronic statements from banks, investment platforms, payment services like PayPal or Venmo, and cryptocurrency exchanges. A password manager on the deceased’s phone or computer can be a goldmine, since one master password sometimes unlocks dozens of accounts.
Nearly every state has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which gives executors legal standing to request access to a deceased person’s online accounts. Without it, service providers can refuse on privacy grounds. To invoke the law, send the company the death certificate and your letters testamentary. Some platforms have dedicated processes for deceased account holders; others require persistence.
Cryptocurrency needs its own attention because it can be genuinely unrecoverable. If the deceased held crypto on a custodial exchange like Coinbase, contact the company with your executor paperwork and follow its standard process. Hardware wallets and other self-custody setups are different. Without the seed phrase the deceased set up when creating the wallet, nobody, including the wallet manufacturer and the courts, can guarantee access. Professional recovery services exist for significant holdings, but success is far from certain. This is the one category where the money can be permanently lost even when you know it exists.
Contact Employers, Insurers, and Professionals
People who managed the deceased’s money during their lifetime often know about assets the family doesn’t. Contact former employers to confirm whether vested 401(k) balances, pension benefits, or employer-provided life insurance remain unclaimed. These workplace benefits frequently aren’t mentioned in a will because the deceased designated beneficiaries directly with the plan administrator, sometimes decades earlier.
For life insurance, the NAIC runs a free Life Insurance Policy Locator at naic.org. Submit the deceased’s name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death, and the tool runs the information against participating insurers. If there’s a match and you’re a beneficiary, the insurance company contacts you directly, typically within 90 business days.5NAIC. Learn How to Use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator You won’t hear back if there’s no match, so silence doesn’t confirm the absence of a policy; the tool only covers participating companies.
Call the deceased’s accountant and estate planning attorney even if you already have the tax returns. Accountants sometimes keep records of business interests, partnership stakes, or rental properties they handled at tax time. Attorneys may hold original deeds, trust documents, or beneficiary designations that never made it into the deceased’s personal files. Have your letters testamentary ready, because everyone you contact will require proof of your authority before sharing anything.
Search State Unclaimed Property Databases
Every state runs an unclaimed property program that absorbs dormant financial accounts: forgotten bank deposits, uncashed checks, old insurance payouts, unused gift cards, and abandoned investment accounts. Collectively these programs hold billions of dollars. The free tool at MissingMoney.com, endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, searches most participating state databases at once.6National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA)
Search every state where the deceased lived, worked, or held accounts. Unclaimed property gets reported to the state of the owner’s last known address, which isn’t always the state where they died. When you find a match, the state’s treasury or comptroller office runs a claims process that requires the death certificate, your executor paperwork, and sometimes a short affidavit. Claims are free to file; ignore any third-party service that offers to file for you in exchange for a percentage of the recovery.
Value What You Find and Meet the Inventory Deadline
Finding the assets is only half the job. The probate court requires a formal inventory listing each asset and its fair market value, and getting the values right matters for tax purposes and for beneficiary distributions. Request date-of-death balance statements for bank and brokerage accounts. Real estate, business interests, collectibles, and unusual personal property generally need a professional appraisal from someone meeting IRS qualification standards for the type of property at issue.7eCFR. 26 CFR 1.170A-17 – Qualified Appraisal and Qualified Appraiser A standard residential appraisal runs roughly $300 to $600, with complex or multi-unit properties higher.
The inventory itself carries a court-imposed deadline that varies by jurisdiction, typically 60 to 90 days after your appointment, with extensions available. Missing that deadline without requesting more time can give beneficiaries grounds to challenge your handling of the estate. If the estate’s gross value exceeds $15,000,000, the federal basic exclusion for 2026 after the recent increase under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the executor must file IRS Form 706 within nine months of the date of death.8Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 706 (Rev. September 2025) Most estates fall well below that. Even when no federal return is due, state-level estate or inheritance taxes kick in at much lower thresholds in roughly a dozen states, so check your state’s rules separately.