A final accounting is the statement showing everything that came into the estate, everything that went out, and what each beneficiary received. It is what the court reviews before discharging you — and the discharge is what ends your personal exposure, so it is worth getting right.
The court discharges you once the estate is settled.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the final account. Keep records for several years.
Applies in 41 of the 50 jurisdictions Settle covers.
9 jurisdictions handle this their own way:
The court signs off on your stewardship and discharges you.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the petition; keep records for several years.
The court discharges you as personal representative once the accounting is approved.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; your attorney files the final accounting and petition for discharge. Keep records for several years.
Georgia representatives may petition for discharge from office and liability once the estate is settled.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; petition the Probate Court for discharge. Keep records for several years.
The court discharges you once the estate is settled (independent estates close with a final report).
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the final report or accounting. Keep records for several years.
Michigan estates close with a sworn statement (informal) or a final account approved by the court (formal).
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the closing statement or final account. Keep records for several years.
Beneficiaries sign releases, or the court settles a formal accounting, to discharge you.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; obtain receipts and releases or file for judicial settlement. Keep records for several years.
The clerk discharges you once the final account is approved (annual accounts may be required for longer estates).
The Probate Court discharges you once the final account is approved.
Beneficiaries sign releases, or a formal account is filed in Orphans' Court, to discharge you.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; obtain receipts and releases or file a formal account. Keep records for several years.
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in your state, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
This step is estate administration procedure, not a statutory deadline, so Settle's rule tables carry no statute citation for it and none is invented here. The answer above is the guidance the app itself gives, identical in every jurisdiction it covers.
The steps that are backed by statute — filing windows, creditor periods, inventory deadlines — carry their citation and last-checked date on the state guide and in Where the state information comes from. If something here does not match what the court or your attorney told you, please write to [email protected].
This is one step out of roughly two dozen. The full sequence for your state — with the statutory deadlines, the citations behind them and the date each was last checked — is in the state executor guides.