5 East Pine Street                                                     Phone:              (302) 855-7875
P.O. Box 743                                                           Fax:                (302) 853-5871
Georgetown, DE 19947                                                   sussexcountyde.gov

                                   Part 1 

                                   Register of Wills  

                          INVENTORY INSTRUCTIONS 

No appointment is necessary for filing the Inventory, you may mail in this document or hand deliver it. This 
packet is due at three (3) months from the date the Estate was opened. Pages cannot be left blank, if there 
are no assets to list, write in “None” or “N/A” and zero out the bottom. Should an extension for time to complete 
the Inventory be necessary, the form can be found on the County’s website. Make a copy of this prior to 
sending into the office, as you’ll need some of this information for the Accounting portion of the probate 
packet. If there is Real Property involved in the Estate, you would need to keep a copy for your records to 
show ownership of the property if you’re an entitled beneficiary to the Estate 

                                   FRONT PAGE 
1.    DECEDENT’S FULL NAME: Person who passed away and name of the Estate.
2.    RESIDENCE AT TIME OF DEATH: Address of decedent – per Death Certificate.
3.    DATE OF DEATH: Month, Day, and Year.
4.    DATE LETTERS GRANTED: Day, month, and year estate was probated. (Opening Appointment)
5.    TESTATE: Died with a Will.   INTESTATE: Died without a will. Please specify which one applies.
6.    COUNTY: Sussex
7.    NAME OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE: Full name of person probating the estate.
8.    ADDRESS OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE: Complete address of person probating the estate.
      The next lines for Name of Personal Representative and Address of Personal Representative are 
      used only if there is more than one Personal Representative. If not, leave it blank. 
9   . NAME AND ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY, IF ANY:Name and address of the Attorney filing on your
      behalf. If you’ve opened the Estate yourself, write in “Pro Se”. This does not apply to Attorney’s 
      representing you in Real Estate matters or Litigation.

               SCHEDULE A – SOLELY HELD REAL ESTATE 
 
Complete this section only if real estate was solely held in the decedent’s name. If there was none, enter “none” 
in the Description area, enter decedent’s full name at the bottom of the page and proceed to the next page. This 
will be used to update the County’s records to show who’s entitled to receive the property, so please write clearly 
and cleanly. If additional Schedule A’s are needed to list multiple pieces of property or a multitude of entitled 
beneficiaries, please let the office know, we will provide them to you with additional instructions.  

  1.  ITEM NO: List property by Item number, starting with Tax Map and Parcel Number as provided to you by 
      the Chief Deputy at your opening appointment.  

  2.  DESCRIPTION: 
      a.  Provide identifying information to the property such as an address.  
      b.  Enter person(s) full name/relationship to deceased, complete address(es) of those who are 
          entitled to receive the property and their share. If there is a Will, you’ll be listing entitled 
          beneficiaries at the direction of a Will. If there is no Will, you’ll reference Delaware’s laws on 
          Intestate Succession on how property passes to next of kin.  
      c.  Enter the fair market value of the real estate. (Obtain an appraisal or realtor comparable.) 

  3.  VALUE AT DATE OF DEATH: A value as close as possible to the date of passing that represents a fair 
      market value for the property.  
  4.  TOTAL:  Sum of all items listed. 
  5.  BOX:  Enter name, complete address, and phone number for the person to receive the County’s Tax bill.  
  6.  ESTATE: Decedent’s full name to be written at bottom of page. 
  
     Example of property passing with a Will. Decedent had two children entitled to the property.  
      

 Example of property passing with no Will and property subject to Intestate Succession. Decedent had 
 a spouse entitled to a life estate, with a child entitled to the future interest of the property. 

 Example of property passing to next of kin without a Will. Property would pass to next of kin in equal 
 shares.  
                       
 Example of property that was directed to be sold in the Will. Also applies if the property was for sale 
 prior to passing. You would not list individuals to be entitled to property, just that the property is 
 directed to be sold. 

                                     SCHEDULE B – JOINTLY OWNED ASSETS                            
                                                                        
                       1. If there are jointly held items, check Yes. If no, check “No” and write in “None” and zero out the bottom”. 
                          To list the jointly held items, proceed with completing the following: 
                           
                       2. A, B, & C: List name, relationship, and address of individuals who have joint ownership with the 
                          decedent. 
                       3. ITEM NO: List number of items individually.  
                       4. DESCRIPTION: Examples: bank accounts (do not list account numbers), auto, mobile home, boat, 
                          trailer, land, and home. If there is real property to be listed, please list by Tax Map and Parcel Number 
                          and an address. With each item, write “Joint With A,B or C” according to with whom the item is jointly 
                          held with. 
                       5. FAIR MARKET VALUE: Value of items at time of death. 
                       6. TOTAL:  Total of all Fair Market Value amounts. Total will be transferred to the Recapitulation page on 
                          the corresponding line. 
                       7. ESTATE: Decedent’s full name to be written at bottom of page. 
 
Example of Decedent passing with multiple Jointly Held Items, including Real Property.  
 

                       SCHEDULE C - BANK ACCOUNTS AND CASH 
 Bank Accounts & Cash – Includes cash on hand, monies in the following accounts at date of death (include 
 name of bank, type of account; but do not    include account numbers): 
    a)    Checking 
    b)    Savings 
    c)    Money Market 
    d)    Certificates 
 
 1. ITEM NO: List number of items individually. 
 2. DESCRIPTION: Banks, credit unions, etc.  Do not list account numbers. This document is public record 
    and you would not want account numbers to be listed publicly.  
 3. FAIR MARKET VALUE: Balance at time of death. 
 4. TOTAL:  Total of all Fair Market Value amounts. Total will be transferred to the Recapitulation page on 
    the corresponding line. 
 5. ESTATE: Decedent’s full name to be written at bottom of page. 
     
                         SCHEDULE D – STOCKS AND BONDS 
 Complete only if stocks and bonds aresolely heldin the decedent’s name. You do not   need to list anything if 
 there is a Beneficiary attached to the item (an individual’s name is attached to the item). If there were none, 
 enter “none” in the Description area and proceed to next page. 
 1. ITEM NO:  List number of items individually. 
 2. DESCRIPTION:  Enter all stocks and bonds. 
 3. FAIR MARKET VALUE: Balance at time of death. 
 4. TOTAL:  Total of all Fair Market Value amounts. Total will be transferred to the Recapitulation page on 
    the corresponding line. 
 5. ESTATE: Decedent’s full name to be written at bottom of page. 

                   SCHEDULE E – MISCELLANEOUS PROPERTY 
Include any item(s) not listed on previous pages that are solely owned or payable to the Estate. Example: 
automobile(s), mobile home(s), refunds or rebates, life insurance (list only if in decedent’s name), auto insurance 
refunds, household goods and contents. You may group items, unless they are of great value, such as antiques, 
etc., in which case they should be listed individually. You do not need to list any assets that have a beneficiary 
attached to the item or are payable or transferrable upon death. 
  
 1. ITEM NO: List number of items individually when they are of great value. 
 2. DESCRIPTION: Automobile(s) and mobile home(s) include make/model/year, refunds include name of 
    company, household goods may be listed as one-line item.  Antiques, coin collections, anything of great 
    value must be listed individually. 
 3. FAIR MARKET VALUE: Value of items at time of death. 
 4. TOTAL:  Total of all Fair Market Value amounts. Total to be transferred to the Recapitulation page on 
    the corresponding line. 
 5. ESTATE: Decedent’s full name to be written at bottom of page. 
 

                             RECAPITULATION 
 
 1.  Transfer the totals from the bottom of each page to the corresponding line.  
 2.  Total of Non-Probate Assets - Sum of A & B.  
 3.  Total of Probate Assets – Sum of C, D, and E.  
 4. Retain a copy of this Inventory for your records, as you will need these figures for the 
    Accounting.   
 
    OATH OR AFFIRMATION OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE 
On the first line, print the personal representative’(s) name.  On the second line, print the decedent’s name. 
In the presence of a Notary, you’ll sign the line above “Personal Representative". If there are multiple personal 
representatives, both will be required to be present to sign before the Notary, or two recapitulations will be 
required to be completed.   
 
 Resources  
Delaware’s Code on Intestate Succession: 
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c005/index.html 
 
Sussex County’s Forms – Additional Inventory Forms or Extension Requests 
https://sussexcountyde.gov/register-will-forms