I am the executor of my late Aunt's estate, which was largely two pieces of real estate and some stocks and bank accounts, and being an executor is not my profession (though this did seem like a full time job at times), and no non-interest income was generated during the process of liquidating and distributing the estate assets.
The proceeds from the sale of one of the pieces of real estate was put into an interest bearing account until final distribution to two beneficiaries was approved by the court. The other property was transferred in title to two other beneficiaries, and the cash from liquidation of the stocks and bank accounts was placed in a separate interest bearing account and distributed to other beneficiaries upon approval from the Probate Court. Interest earned on the funds from the real estate sale placed into the first account amounted to approx $30,000, and the funds in the second account was around $130. Attorney's fees of about $14,000 and other expenses of $56,000 were paid over the course of resolving the estate.
My questions are: 1) does a 1099-NEC need to be filed for the payment of fees to the attorney; 2) does an estate tax return need to be filed for the interest income and expenses of administering the estate? If so, since this was not an ongoing business, but an EIN was issued for the estate, what type of return needs to be filed?
