An inheritance inventory is useful only if someone else can trace its entries. A spreadsheet showing “house”, “savings” and “business” may help a first conversation, but it leaves too many assumptions hidden. The aim is to connect each item with ownership evidence, a dated figure and the questions still requiring investigation.
Design the record around evidence
Use separate fields for description, legal owner, inherited share, location and supporting file. Record the purpose and date of a valuation rather than storing an amount without context. Add a status such as confirmed, requested, disputed or awaiting valuation. This makes uncertainty visible without turning a preliminary assumption into a final fact.
Book IV of the Catalan Civil Code provides the succession framework, including inventory-related matters. The working schedule should support the relevant procedure, not be presented as automatically satisfying every legal requirement. Ask the succession professional what form and additional evidence the case needs.
Do not overlook rights and obligations
A loan made by the deceased may be a receivable even where the family remembers only the money leaving the account. Company interests, shared property and unresolved settlements likewise deserve their own entries. Keep liabilities in a distinct schedule with creditor, underlying agreement, balance date and any dispute.
As a hypothetical illustration, a family describes a small company as one inherited asset. The records reveal that the deceased also advanced money to it under a separate agreement. The shareholding and the potential receivable need separate examination rather than an unexplained combined value.
Keep different valuation purposes visible
Property can have a historic price, a market estimate and a value relevant to a tax procedure. ATC explains property valuation and the reference value. Identify which question a figure answers and retain its evidence; a number used in a tax discussion is not automatically a sale valuation.
For an orderly handover, provide the inventory together with an indexed document folder. Use file names that identify the asset and date, and preserve replaced versions where their earlier use matters. Send a short change log when correcting an important entry.
Common omissions include ownership percentages, loans owed to the deceased and assets administered by someone outside the immediate family. The finished pack should distinguish what is established from what still requires a decision. For help structuring this financial inventory and preparing questions for the succession team, write to info@taxdevelopmentconsulting.com.