Help regarding my mother’s estate/her passing

[JotikaT2 · Accepted solution]

Do you have a specific question you need help with?  If so, please comment.

Here is some general information to help you get started with the filing requirements for your mom's tax filing.

What to file for a deceased taxpayer

You will need to file Form 56, Notice of Fiduciary Relationship with the IRS to let them know you are acting on behalf of the taxpayer.

What to file for a deceased taxpayer

If you need to obtain prior year tax information, please see the link below for more details from the IRS and how to request additional information.

Getting information from the IRS for a deceased person

Please see the following link for how to contact the IRS on behalf of someone else.

Contacting the IRS on behalf of someone else

You can complete the tax return for her.  But be sure you have contacted the Social Security administration per the instructions in the link below before filing her return.

Assistance with filing a return for someone who has passed away

I am very sorry for your loss.

[M-MTax]

Answered in another thread........

 That 1310 form is so the check will be made out to you as the executor instead of the estate of your mother. You should be able to endorse the check and deposit it into your mother's estate account no matter what so the form is sort of irrelevant.

     You don't have to file a 1041 until the estate has income or gain and you can pick your tax year when filing the first return so you don't need to do anything until such time as the estate has income of $600 or more.

[jfear]

@JotikaT2 Thank you so much for taking the time to provide so much valuable information.  

I have a question regarding the Form 56.  Do I need to file this form (in all the information I have read, the IRS requests a copy of the Executor Short Certificate to be included with the tax return) and also include the Short Certificate?  I was not aware of the form 56 until I read your post.

The IRS website states I do not need to complete the for 1310 because I am a court appointed representative (they request a copy of the Short Certificate from the Courts be included with the return.

The Social Security was notified of her passing in March.  I am doing my best to file everything correctly but it seems as though there are endless additional forms I also need to submit.

[JotikaT2]

You are welcome.

And yes, you should file Form 56 so the IRS is aware of which entities you will be filing returns for.  For example, you may have the decedent's last personal tax return, as well as a trust or estate tax return, if applicable.

Once your duties are over, you can file Form 56 again to terminate the Fiduciary relationship.

Please see the link below for the full instructions for Form 56 as they provide helpful information to assist you as you complete the form.

Form 56 Instructions

@jfear