After a family member dies, you aren’t usually thinking about paperwork. But there is a lot of it. And one of the things that must be done is the filing of a final tax return.

When a person dies, an estate is created to collect all of the person’s debts and assets. Someone is named to be the executor, either a person named in the deceased’s will or his or her spouse. If there’s no spouse, it would be the person’s children.

The return has to be filed by the April 15 deadline of there could be penalties. The return is just like it would have been had the person still been alive except the word “deceased” appears next to the person’s name and the date of death is written at the top.

If the deceased person is due a refund, the estate needs to file a Form 1030, according to a story on dailyfinance.com.

When a person dies with investments and pensions, much of that income is taxed to the person who inherits those funds, the story says. An exception is a Roth IRA that was at least five years old.

If you have questions about estate planning, feel free to call us for a consultation at (626) 696-3145.

 

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