"Herb Smith" <smithff33[at]aol.com> wrote:
- quote -

Actually TurboTax Business for $100 will handle 1041's for
estates and trusts as well as small partnerships and
corporations. (1041/1065/1120 forms as well as w2 and 1099
misc). Its close to consumer software as it is sold to small
businesses.

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"Arthur L. Rubin" <ronnirubin[at]sprintmail.com> wrote:
- quote -

The NY attorney wants nothing to do with any tax filing. I
don't do my own and will definately have a professional do
the federal and NY taxes, as recommended by so many
responders here. Will also have an Indiana tax professional
do the 1041, probably in May, as I have until August 2005 to
submitt. The Estate did sell her home as it was financed
with a reverse mortgage and needed to be converted to cash
to pay off the loan. The reverse mortgage did it's job and
kept mom in her house preventing the move to a nursing home,
which she was afraid would happen. I would recommend a
reverse mortgage to those needing it - but only after doing
your homework on the way they work.

- quote -

Thanks to all who responded, I have "read" the IRS Pub 559
for executor duties and agree with all of you that this is
not something I expected or something I want to do on my
own.

Thanks to all for your inputs and suggestions.

Greyghost - in cold Indiana!

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"GreyGhost" <greyghost.at.comcast.net[at]giganews.com> wrote:

- quote -

After reading the other replies, I strongly agree you engage
a professional to prepare the fiduciary tax returns for both
Federal & NY. Fiduciary tax return prep is NOT a do it
yourself type of project.

You didn't mention if there is a taxable estate for Federal
and/or NY. Perhaps, the attorney handling the estate works
with a local CPA and can refer you there.

Over the years, I've had attorneys refer the 1041 and state
(NJ/NY) fiduciary return prep to me, because they just
didn't want to get involved in that aspect of it.

--
<<< Benjamin Yazersky CPA [NJ & NY] > >
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Neill Massello wrote:

- quote -

Why April? If the estate is likely to close within a year
of it's opening, the estate should file for a fiscal year,
and file it's return no later than 15-1/2 months from the
month the estate opened. April is appropriate for mom's
final income tax return, though.

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GreyGhost <greyghost.at.comcast.net[at]giganews.com> wrote:

- quote -

I'm not a tax expert, but I have filed a 1041 more than
once, and I can tell you that it's not necessarily that
difficult. It depends largely on the complexity of the
estate and the provisions of the will. Some initial
questions to consider in deciding if this a job you want to
tackle by yourself:

(1) Does the estate owe federal estate tax (Form 706)?

(2) Does the estate include rental property, a family
business, a share in a partnership, or sources of income
other than the usual bank accounts, pensions, and marketable
securities?

(3) Does the estate have a large amount of tax-exempt income?

(4) Does the will specify particular rules for the
distribution of income or capital gains to beneficiaries?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, consider
taking the job to a professional. But if your mom's estate
and will are simple, filing a 1041 is something an
intelligent person can do -- if he's willing to spend some
time on it. I suggest you start by downloading the Form 1041
instructions from the IRS web site and reading them. If you
can grasp the concept of distributable net income and you
won't have to calculate an estate tax deduction, you should
consider doing the job yourself. Just get started now so
that, if you need to, you can hand it off to a pro *before*
April.

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GreyGhost wrote:

- quote -

(Adding to my other post.) See publication 559 for the
Federal issues.

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GreyGhost wrote:

- quote -

Is the attorney going to take care of Federal Estate tax
and NY State Estate and/or Inheritance taxes, or are you
going to have to take care of that, as well? (Estate tax
is unlikely, unless the total value of the estate, plus
any prior non-exempt gifts, exceeds $1.5 million. I don't
know about NY inheritance taxes. You have inheritance taxes
in IN, though....)

I would say that the 1041 wouldn't be bad if her income was
only from investments, and the estate doesn't sell any
property during the time it's open. You might want to pay
a NY tax preparer to be sure, though.

If the estate is open more than 12 months, then there are
other problems.

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"GreyGhost" <greyghost.at.comcast.net[at]giganews.com> wrote:

- quote -

Hire someone to do it for you. It is NOT something a
layperson could do.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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GreyGhost wrote:

- quote -

For starters, review IRS Pub 559 for executor duties. After
reading that you may wonder what you did "wrong" in life to
get this assignment :-)

For form 1041 preparation, I would recommend that you
consult with a tax professional with experience in this
area. The form is not designed for novices and there is no
"consumer" software available to aid in its preparation. The
form is used for a number of different situations, so
knowing the underlying tax law is a prerequisite to doing it
correctly.

For her NY state and Federal tax returns, you might also
consider hiring a NY tax preparer to assist you (especially
the state return). You're not in Indiana any more, Dorothy.

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I am executor for my mom's estate. I am told by the estate
attorney (in NY) that I must file a Form 1041 "first and
final", and also must file for mom's NY State and Federal
2004 taxes. I live in Indiana and could use some direction
(input) on just what a Form 1041 requires, or where to
begin looking.

Any help or direction will be appreciated from those
knowledgeble (and very busy) tax experts ; )

Greyghost

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