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Articles & Books From Kathryn A. Murphy
Article / Updated 10-06-2022
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.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022
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.
Article / Updated 07-06-2021
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.
Article / Updated 03-13-2020
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.
Estate and Trust Administration For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781119543879) was previously published as Estate and Trust Administration For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781118412251). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.
Step by Step / Updated 03-10-2017
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.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Although valuing tangible property may give you scope for some creative research, calculating the value of an estate’s intangible property, those bank and brokerage accounts, and any stocks or bonds that the decedent physically held, should help complete your quest. Provided that you have a complete list of the intangible property, figuring out what it was worth on the date of death should be a simple matter of math.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
As executor, you should have all the decedent’s bills (or be in the process of collecting them). One of your first tasks is to pay all administration expenses and legitimate debts of the decedent before you make any distributions to beneficiaries. That is, if you have enough assets to do so.
How and when to pay claims
One of your first duties as executor (after the payment of administration expenses) is to pay the debts incurred by the decedent during his or her life.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
As executor, you may feel that your job is primarily to write letters because you need to notify seemingly everyone and their uncle of the decedent’s death. Some entities and individuals may be more important than others, but you should notify them all as soon as possible.
You can save yourself some time by creating your own version of a form letter that can be modified easily for each recipient.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Handling an estate can be confusing and overwhelming. After you’ve been appointed as executor, there are some important first steps every executor should take to make things as simple as possible.
Adding the executor to insurance policy endorsements:
Homeowner’s and other real property insurance — Add your name as executor to any policies of insurance on the decedent’s real estate (and if the decedent’s home is unoccupied, let the insurance company know in case a special rider is needed.
