The house is sold, the estate’s debts and bills have all been paid, the accounting has been presented to the beneficiaries, they have signed off on the Release & Refunding Bonds, and now it’s time for the estate’s Executor or Administrator to distribute the estate to the beneficiaries according to the Will or according to the requirements of the law. The estate may have acquired dividends or interest or rents on which income tax must be paid. An income tax return has to be filed for the Estate if more than $600 in gross income was received, and in fulfilling his/her fiduciary duty, the Executor/ Administrator wants to be sure to investigate all available income-tax saving opportunities.
Here are a few of the questions to ask when you call the estate’s accountant: :
- What is the estate’s expected marginal tax bracket?
- Is it beneficial to pass the estate’s income and losses (if there is a loss on sale of assets such as stock or real property) through to the beneficiaries?
- Can income or loss be passed through in a year that the property isn’t actually distributed?
- If assets have to be distributed out in order to pass thru the tax liability, which plan saves the most taxes — distributing or holding?
- Is there any limit on the amount of losses that can be passed through to the beneficiaries?
Serving as Executor or Administrator is a job with many responsibilities. It’s vital that the fiduciary get advice on all of the steps required so that the interests of the beneficiaries are protected, and so that the fiduciary can be protected as well.
Call us for complete advice “A to Z” about the estate administration for decedents’ estates … 732-382-6070