Kathryn A. Murphy

As of January 1, 2013, an additional 3.8 percent tax was added to investment income in estates and trusts, thanks to provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. It's not an additional tax on every dollar, but only on the lesser of undistributed net investment income or any amount of adjusted gross income in excess of the highest tax bracket in any year.

As the fiduciary of an estate or trust, you have many duties, beginning immediately upon the decedent’s (deceased person’s) passing. You’re also guaranteed to become intimately familiar with a host of tax forms you may not have known existed.Tax forms to know as the fiduciary of an estate or trustWhen you’re administering an estate or trust, you may have to prepare a seemingly endless array of tax returns.

If you are serving as executor for a loved one's estate, you’ll need to consider all the stuff you find in the decedent’s residence (or residences). Everything the decedent owned outright on their date of death is now under your care as executor; you’re responsible for making sure that you account for this stuff and that it ends up where it’s supposed to.

When you’re administering an estate or trust, you may have to prepare a seemingly endless array of tax returns. The following table lists some of the most popular ones. Check with your accountant or attorney if you have any questions. Federal Tax Form Number and Name When It’s Required When It’s Due Form 1040 U.

When you’re asked to administer a trust or estate for a relative or friend (especially if that person didn’t have a will), this important responsibility can feel overwhelming during an already difficult time. Here are ten pitfalls that often trip up unwary administrators — and that you should avoid:Don't fail to terminate an existing real estate purchase and sale agreement.

The grantor of the trust has indeed set the stage for his or her wishes to be played out under the trust instrument. As trustee, identifying the players is one of your important first steps because you need to know who the beneficiaries and remaindermen are (you presumably already know the grantor if he or she appointed you as trustee) and if there are any co-trustees acting with you.

Given that only estates with a relatively high asset threshold have to file Form 706, you can understand that the IRS audits a higher percentage of these returns than any other type. Assume that yours will be one of the ones chosen and prepare the return and all its exhibits with that in mind. This way you save yourself a lot of headache instead of trying to re-create what you did six months or a year after you filed the forms.

The IRS generally loves the concept of electronic filing for just about everything, but the estate tax return is one return you can’t submit online. You must file Form 706 nine months after the decedent’s date of death, on paper, by snail mail. Send the completed tax form to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Cincinnati, OH 45999.