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IRS
Helps Heirs Find Intestate’s Assets It goes against what every legal and financial adviser recommends, but still, many individuals with valuable assets die without leaving a will or a formal record of their assets. So heirs of these “intestates” have problems locating, or even learning about, what they have just inherited.
The intestate’s tax return, especially where carefully or professionally done, gives a lot of detail about his or her assets, and sometimes even their whereabouts. For example, tax return entries for interest and dividends list the assets owned, entries for rental income state the property location, and a host of other entries – deductions for interest and property taxes, business income, IRA and pension withdrawals, tax-exempt interest received – indicate or hint at the size of the estate to look for. And the return preparer, whose name, address and phone number are on the return, may know more. IRS says in effect that a person entitled to inherit from an intestate may be allowed to look at the intestate’s last income tax return before death. The heir must file a request with IRS, and offer various items of proof: date and place of intestate’s death, intestate’s state of residence, heir’s relationship to intestate, etc. Specific items IRS needs are spelled out in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-31 which is available at the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2004-31_IRB/ar14.html. You may want your financial or tax adviser to handle this on your behalf. TIP: Helpful
as this is where no will is made, the message to practically all
of us is to make a will and leave a trail to the assets. |
IRS
– of all people – to the rescue. You may not know what
Uncle Charlie owned, but maybe IRS does. And IRS will tell you,
under a new IRS procedure.
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© 1998-2007 Legal Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland. All Rights Reserved. |
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