Estate Distribution Worksheet

Who this is for

Who gets what, and what has been paid. The worksheet starts from the assets and the debts and expenses already paid, takes off specific gifts, splits the rest by each beneficiary's share and tracks every payment until the balance due reaches nothing.

Executors and administrators preparing to pay out an estate, and families who want to see how the figures in a will turn into actual amounts.

What this helps you track

• The total assets, debts and expenses, and what is left to distribute
• Each specific gift and each share of what remains
• The amount each beneficiary is entitled to
• What has been paid to each, and when
• Whether a signed receipt has come back

How to use it

1. Enter the estate, the executors and the date, then the total assets, the debts and expenses paid, and the total of specific gifts.
2. Give each beneficiary a line and choose the type: a specific gift or a share of what remains.
3. For a specific gift, enter its value in the amount column; for a share, enter the percentage the will gives them.
4. The entitlement and balance due are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, apply each percentage to the residue in the summary.
5. Record each payment and its date, tick receipt when the beneficiary's signed receipt is back, and check that shares add up to 100 before paying anything.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the residue worked out?

Total assets, less debts and expenses paid, less the specific gifts total you enter in the header. Each share of residue is that figure multiplied by the beneficiary's percentage. The figures are all yours; the sheet only does the arithmetic.

Why enter the specific gifts total in the header?

Because the residue depends on it, and a row cannot see the other rows. The summary also adds up the gift lines in the table so you can check the two agree.

Does this tell me when I can pay out?

No. When and in what order an estate can be distributed depends on the will and the rules where you are. Take advice if you are unsure; the sheet only keeps the figures straight.

What about a gift of an item rather than money?

Put a value on it in the amount column if you need it in the totals, or leave it blank and describe it in the beneficiary line. Item-by-item distribution sits better on a belongings distribution list.