First of all allow me to express my condolences on the passing of your spouse.
The
tax filing status after the death of a spouse is fairly
straightforward. If your spouse dies during the year, the IRS considers
you married for the entire year and you can use the filing status
"married filing jointly" when your tax return is prepared.
On the
top of form 1040 for your spouse, write "deceased" and your spouse's
name and date of death. If there is a personal representative that has
been appointed for your deceased spouse, then that person will have to
sign the return and if the return is a joint return, you will also sign
it. If there is no personal representative then you should sign the
return and in the signature area write "filing as surviving spouse".
For
the two years following the death of your spouse, if you have a
dependent child and meet all the requirements listed below, you can use
the filing status "qualifying widow with dependent child".
