He credits himself:

With amount of losses on sales as per schedule B$_________
With debts not collected as per schedule B_________
With articles mentioned in inventory lost, schedule B_________
With funeral expenses and other expenses, schedule C_________
With money paid creditors, schedule D_________
With money paid to legatees, widow, or next of kin, schedule E_________
Total credits$_________
Balance_________
Add articles unsold_________
Add debts not collected_________
_________
Total to be distributed_________

FORM OF ACCOUNTS

3. The devising of forms of trust and executory accounts offers a wide scope for the application of accounting knowledge. Many intricate problems arise in the interpretation of details of the trust and in the apportionment of sums received, between capital and revenue. Broadly, these accounts are prepared in one of two forms: (a) An account of charge and discharge; (b) in the form of regular ledger accounts. As has been intimated, legal requirements are complied with by the first form, but the second form is preferable. When ledger accounts are kept on the double entry plan, the fullest information can be obtained about the condition of the trust at any time, and from these accounts, the account of charge and discharge or any form required by the court can be made for each period.

In preparing the accounts the exact relationship of the trustee to the estate (as the property in trust is called) must be kept in mind. As the owner of the property, he is a creditor of the estate (the business) just as the proprietor of the business is the creditor of that business. On the other hand, as custodian, he is a debtor, being in possession of the property of others.

In the ledger, property accounts are opened with the different classes of properties represented in the estate, which accounts are debited for the appraised value of the properties. These are known as custodian accounts.

A contra account representing the estate—sometimes called the capital—is opened under some such caption as Personal Estate Account. This account is credited with the combined values of all properties represented by the custodian accounts.

When the assets are entered and posted, the ledger accounts will appear as follows:

These asset accounts represent the value of the individual properties, while the personal estate account represents the combined values of all personal property of the estate (No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3). The personal estate is known as the corpus, distinguishing it from the real estate.