Life does go on.  With the Holidays, a vacation and then a week back at work trying to catch up on all that is, I have spent no time on my mother’s estate, and I feel behind. 

Here’s where things stand or do not stand, so to speak:

1. I reached out to my mother’s accountant, let’s call him Jim.  Jim is retired but has been doing my mother’s returns given their long-standing relationship.  I am guessing that that courtesy does not extend to me.  In fairness, I have never met or spoken with Jim, but he was quick to tell me that he is retired and to call Frank.  Frank works at Jim’s old firm.  I asked Frank if he had her latest returns, to which he stated that he did not, as Jim has been doing these on the side.  I think I might have the 2022 return but will need to look. In any event, my first order of business is to file an extension, this will give me until October 15, 2024.  And sure, while the government wants you to hop to it, I have other items to complete.  My mother lived in Virginia, a state that allows for an automatic extension. However, when filing an extension with the IRS, make sure your individual state follows through, as some states, like New York, seem to require you to file an extension with them separately.

2. My mother had a trust and I have literally no idea how to deal with a trust.  From what I understand it’s quite simple, but I need to get back in touch with her attorneys to understand what I need to do in order to (i) collect all that is owned and outstanding by the trust, (ii) how I can distribute the assets of the trust, and (iii) how to dissolve the trust.  Seems simple enough, but I am guessing there are a number of hoops. 

3. I did receive the credit report from the various credit rating agencies.  My mother had a few more retail credit cards, which will need to be closed.  Otherwise, it looks fairly clean.

4. To-date, I have only one account of hers that is not owned by the trust, and as previously mentioned, a small account can skip probate, but there are still forms that will need to be filled out and registered. 

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, so stay tuned.