Death & Taxes

Father-in-law died this past fall. 

The lovely bride and her handsome brother didn't get their act together with regard to the estate thing until late last month. Ergo, the Letters of Administration probably won't be issued in time to gather the necessary information for filing the deceased's '16 tax returns,in a timely manner.

In lieu of pretending to be the deceased to get the information, I'm recommending that the lovely bride write a check in the amount of last year's tax bill, and filing an amended return once the Letters are issued and the necessary information collected. The IRS payment to be charged against the Estate, as an expense, prior to distribution.

Is there a better way to deal with the deceased's '16 income tax obligation than the above?

If it makes any difference, the Administration proceeding is in Nassau County, New York.

Thanks for any help.

TomR

Not the death issue specifically but I think it's automatic that almost any circumstance can get anyone a 6-month extension to file. You need to file Form 4868

My condolences, I know from recent personal experience how difficult a process this can be for all involved.  You may find some helpful information in the MOL blog I kept at the time which dwelt heavily on estate handling issues.

In my experience, all of the forms needed to file income taxes were mailed to the house [in his name] in plenty of time to get the tax returns done.  Going through his papers helped me determine what if anything was missing. If documents are missing, a phone call was all that was needed to get a duplicate copy of the needed material sent to me since I gave the address of record.  Basic information such as his date of birth, social security number, and member/account number were all that was needed to get the information released.  In come cases, a copy of the death certificate was required.  These were provided by the funeral home. Some sources may require a notarized form before the information is released.  There is still plenty of time to email or fax such information or get it sent by snail mail using overnight delivery.  Please let me know if I can provide more specific information. 

Edited to add:  Even if you request an extension, you still need to pay any money owed by  April 15th (or adjusted date in the event April 15th is a holiday or a major disaster intercedes).