A “probate referee” appraises certain assets in the estate as of the date of the decedent’s death. After the Order for Probate is signed and the referee appointed by the court, the estate representative is responsible for preparing the inventory of the assets subject to probate for the referee to appraise. This is done on an “Inventory and Appraisal” form with attachments describing the assets owned by the decedent that are subject to probate. The completed Inventory form is sent to the probate referee who will appraise the assets listed on the attachments, place values on the inventory schedule and return for filing with the probate court. Sometimes it is possible to have the court waive appraisal by a probate referee.