Records custody log template for a trustee, receiver or assignee

When should you use a records custody log?

Use a custody log from the first day you control a company's systems, and keep it running until the records are destroyed on schedule or handed to a successor. It answers four questions on demand: where is each system, who has touched it, what was copied and does the copy match.

The log is useful beyond the case. SourceX, the enterprise data transaction layer between companies that hold proprietary data and AI labs and data buyers, runs a data inventory and rights review before any buyer sees an opportunity, and provenance is one of the things buyers ask about. A clean log shortens that conversation. Procedures for estates differ by state; for example, assignments for the benefit of creditors are governed by state statutes that set their own procedures, so adapt the log to your appointment. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

The log template

Copy each block into a spreadsheet or document, one block per system. Replace the {placeholders}.

Header block

System entry block

Access and transfer block

How to personalize it

Follow-up timing

• Daily during the first week: log every access change and export.
• Weekly after that: re-verify hashes on stored copies and review the access list.
• At each event: a sale, lender demand, court hearing or dissolution should trigger a reconciling entry.
• Before any license step: have counsel review the log together with the books and records questions on the statement of financial affairs, since both describe the same systems.

The log pairs with a retention plan for defense files; see D&O run-off coverage and records retention. Where a lender holds the keys, private credit lenders taking the keys covers what happens to records. For an old Delaware entity, see DGCL section 279, and note that an examiner may ask for exactly this kind of record.

What never to put in the log

• Content of the records, such as customer names, personal data or contract terms.
• Credentials, passwords or recovery keys.
• Promises of payment, or any typed reward amount.
• Statements about a buyer, a price or a closing date that no one has agreed.

How partner rewards work

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward is paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. It is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives.

Fiduciaries and other licensed professionals should check the rules that apply to their appointment, including court disclosure, before accepting a referral reward. See the program terms.

Does the company qualify?

Qualification is separate from the log. The baseline is 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license the data and an authorized sponsor. A company can qualify whether operating, acquired or wound down, if the data still exists. The company fit checker is a preliminary, non-binding screen, and who qualifies lists the full baseline.

Next step

Start the log today, then register as a partner and introduce the company, or have the authorized sponsor apply at sourcex.si/apply with your referral link.