Reviewing Publication 559 (Survivors, Executors & Administrators) communicates that the requirement for filing Form 1041 is waived if the estate has less than $600 of income. My question arises around the timing of the transfer of a financial account to a beneficiary. In any death & transfer process I can imagine, there is lag time between the date of death and transfer of funds or an account to a beneficiary. So if it takes two months before the broker/banker transfers the account directly to a beneficiary, how is the interim period treated?
My follow-on question relates to an executor's obligation to file K-1's for each beneficiary. If the estate has less than the $600 of income the Form 1041 is not required. The K-1's seem to be a component of the Form 1041 filing. If the estate doesn't meet the Form 1041 filing threshold, is the executor still required to file K-1's?
