Filing Taxes for a deceased taxpayer

[wynnew0752]

My mother in law passed away in 2022 and I'm doing her 2021 taxes.  She's getting a refund. She has a trust and my sister in law is the executor. Do I need to file form 1310? Is my sister in law considered the personal representative and are the trust documents considered the court certificate showing the appointment? What else do I need to file to make sure I do this correctly?

[Anonymous_]

Did you mother-in-law also leave a will or is everything she owned in the trust?

A Form 1310 will have to be filed, regardless, unless there is a court certificate or your mother-in-law has a surviving spouse.

Your sister-in-law is the trustee of the trust, but the trust document is not considered a court certificate. Your sister-in-law also appears to be the proper party to file the final return (and any other returns or documents that are required to be filed) unless there is a will in which an executor is named.

Frankly, you need to take this one step at a time and, if you have the least bit of doubt (or the assets are substantial), you should engage the services of local legal counsel and/or a local tax professional.

[HelenC12]

Since the Trust documents state who is the executor, no, it's not considered court appointed.  

• A personal representative is appointed by a probate court judge to oversee the administration of an estate when someone dies with or without a will and has not transferred all of their property into a living trust. T
• An Executor is named by an individual who creates a living trust.

The filing of the deceased taxpayer's final return usually falls to the executor or administrator of the estate. If your sister in law is the executor, she'll be listed as the executor or administrator on the tax return. 

Yes, since a refund is due, the executor should file a copy of Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer.

I'm so sorry for your loss. 

Related information: 

Death in the Family

[Anonymous_]

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@HelenC12 wrote:

• An Executor is named by an individual who creates a living trust.

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Just so we get the terminology straight, trusts do not have executors; they have a trustee or co-trustees (and successor trustee(s)). An executor (aka personal representative) is named by the testator in a will.