I was my mom's guardian and am now the personal representative for her estate. The assets include a small non-interest bearing checking account and the home that will be transferred to her husband. Unfortunately, by the time I realized mom hadn't added her second husband to the deed, she was no longer competent to do it. Huge mistake!
My lawyer requested the estate tax ID# and told me that I would need to hire a CPA to complete an estate tax return. So, I was not surprised in June when I received a letter from the IRS informing me that based on information provided by my representative I must file Form 1041 by 11/15/18.
Now that the time to file is drawing near, I looked at the 1041 instructions to see if I can do the return myself or if I really need to hire a CPA. The instructions indicate a return is not required if estate income is less than $600. Mom's estate had no income. I'm wondering if I should 1) Do nothing i.e. not file, 2) File essentially a blank return, 3) Send the IRS a communication that I will not file and why, or 4) do something else.
Has anyone else dealt with something similar? What did you do and how did it work for you?
My lawyer requested the estate tax ID# and told me that I would need to hire a CPA to complete an estate tax return. So, I was not surprised in June when I received a letter from the IRS informing me that based on information provided by my representative I must file Form 1041 by 11/15/18.
Now that the time to file is drawing near, I looked at the 1041 instructions to see if I can do the return myself or if I really need to hire a CPA. The instructions indicate a return is not required if estate income is less than $600. Mom's estate had no income. I'm wondering if I should 1) Do nothing i.e. not file, 2) File essentially a blank return, 3) Send the IRS a communication that I will not file and why, or 4) do something else.
Has anyone else dealt with something similar? What did you do and how did it work for you?