<I am the executor of the estate of my father who passed away late November 2001.>


Is there any particular reason why the distributions have not taken place in the last 20 months? I only ask this because the filing of the final year 1040 and the annual 1041s for the estate can be a lot of work. In most cases (unless there is a trust, a business or some other family issue) the executor normally would want to distribute the assets as soon as practical. Generally, the more time that goes by, the more paperwork that needs to be filed.

Another factor is if there is enough income coming in to the estate (from dividends, interest, rental properties, etc) the 1041 tax rates can ramp up very quickly. One may decide to sell assets while they are still within the estate, but doing so will generate a taxable event. BTW, the taxable event can be in your favor too. For example: the costs incurred selling a house can result in a net loss on the sale. This loss would be passed along as a deduction for the beneficiaries by way of the K1's (don't forget it is your responsibility to provide one for all of the beneficiaries). All of this can add a lot of complexity to the process. Most of us who have been executors want to complete the task in a timely manner. A long delay in making distributions can result in a greatly altered value for a property, a business or a stock from the value on the date of death. Hopefully, there is no Enron or Worldcom in the estate.


BRG