All adults should have an estate plan.
An estate plan allows you to direct to whom and how your assets will be distributed upon your passing, and in so doing:
- Provide for your loved ones according to your wishes rather than the rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois
- Promote harmony among your loved ones by providing for your wishes to be stated clearly and unambiguously
- Appoint guardians for minor or disabled children
- Mitigate the impact of the estate tax upon your family
- Protect the funds that you have left for your loved ones by providing that the funds continue to be held in trust for the benefit of your loved ones during their lifetimes or until they reach certain ages or milestones
- Set funds aside until beneficiaries are of a specific age that you specify to be in control of their own funds for themselves
- Reduce administrative expenses and avoid probate, preserving your estate for your family and loved ones
- Allow for the distribution of assets to grandchildren and others more than one generation below you in a manner that takes full advantage of your GST tax exemption
- Provide you and your family peace of mind.
- In addition to providing for you passing away, an estate plan should provide for your disability by including a power of attorney for health and a power of attorney for property so that the person of your choice is acting on your behalf should you become disabled or otherwise not able to act for yourself.
- Ready to talk about setting up your Estate Plan? Contact Us.
- Will
- Revocable trust
- Power of Attorney for property
- Power of Attorney for health
- Appointment of agent to control disposition of remains
- Assignment of tangible personal property into trust
- Deed or Transfer on death instrument providing for real estate title to be in trust
The specific documents you need will vary with your individual circumstances. Learn more about setting up an Estate Plan.
A will is a legal document you formally sign with at least two witnesses in a manner required by law that disposes of your “estate” assets (assets that are not in a trust and are without either a beneficiary designation or held in joint tenancy or other survivorship rights) according to your own wishes rather than by the rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois; to name an eligible person of your choosing as executor to be responsible for administering your estate; and to waive the probate court requirement of purchasing a bond for the executor – saving money. In your will you also may name guardians for your children upon your death. Property interests created by your will vest upon your death although the vesting of such interests are subject to probate. It is important that certain language be included in the will and procedures followed, and the will be properly witnessed, so that the will is legally valid upon your death.
At any time, and as your circumstances change, you can do a change (“codicil”) to your will, revoke your will, or do a new will.
Administering assets in an estate generally requires opening of a probate estate in court.
A revocable trust is a legal document that appoints a trustee, usually yourself, and successor trustees, to hold the assets in the trust for your benefit during your lifetime, and provides for the manner of distribution of the assets in your trust upon your death. You fund the trust by titling the asset in the name of the trustee of the trust rather than in your own individual name. The assets you put in your trust while you are living are not subject to the court probate process. A revocable trust comes into existence upon funding. The trust is referred to as a revocable or living trust as you can amend or revoke the trust at any time while you are living. A trust is created with less formality than a will.
As a backstop, you, if you have a revocable trust, should also have a will – referred to as a “pour over will.” A pour over will provides that, upon your death, your estate be distributed to the trustee of your revocable trust. If you have created a revocable trust during your lifetime but there is an asset that you have not placed in your trust (or for which you have not made a beneficiary designation or provided survivorship rights), the asset will not avoid probate but it will be administered as provided under the terms of your revocable trust rather than by the rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois.
Consistent with the client’s wishes, the revocable trusts we prepare are designed to eliminate or minimize estate and GST taxes and simplify asset administration without court involvement.
Married clients typically create separate revocable trusts although, in limited circumstances a joint trust might make sense for married clients.
From time to time, a client may set up an additional revocable trust to hold specific assets the client wishes to keep separate from their other assets.
We also set up irrevocable trusts, such as an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (“ILIT”), for clients to assist them with their gifting and other estate planning strategies.
- Assets you put in your revocable trust while you are alive bypass the court probate process when you pass away. This saves time and money administering your assets upon your passing.
- Revocable trusts are easily amended.
- Your moving your assets into your revocable trust while you are living means those assets are not estate assets subject to probate when you die – saving time and money to administer those assets.
- Assets you put in your revocable trust while you are alive under Illinois law are not subject to the marital election if your estate plan is not to provide for your spouse.
- Revocable trusts are useful in planning in case you become disabled. Your trust can provide that, without any court action at that time, your successor trustee step into your shoes when you no longer are able to act as trustee.
Creating an estate plan with a revocable trust and a will generally requires the same amount of meetings and correspondence as creating an estate plan with only a will.
Over one’s lifetime, creating an estate plan with only a will, rather than a revocable trust and a will, can lead to duplicate legal fees because it will always make sense in the future to decide to create a new estate plan with both a new will and a revocable trust. A revocable trust saves time and expense upon one’s death.
Unlike with a will, the client, after creating the revocable trust, should fund the revocable trust by titling assets in the name of the trustee of the revocable trust to avoid probate upon the client’s death.
If you never fund your revocable trust, you still have an estate plan. The pour over will, via the probate process, puts the estate assets in the revocable trust such that the assets will be disposed of according to the unique provisions of your revocable trust – avoiding distribution of your assets according to the rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois. The dispositive provisions of your estate plan will not fail although probate will not be avoided.
The probate court will dispose of your estate according to the rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois. For example, if you are married and have children, even if you would have wished that upon your death your whole estate pass to your spouse and then to your children upon your spouse’s death, the probate court will require that upon your death half of your estate be distributed to your spouse and half to your children. The rules of intestacy under the laws of the State of Illinois do not reflect the distribution wishes of most people upon their deaths.
There are too many potential changes in circumstances for a client to confidently rely upon beneficiary designations and survivorship rights as a substitute for a will or trust. If changes in circumstances should occur, you may not have the capacity or wherewithal at that time to change the beneficiary designation of each and every account at every financial institution. Also, not every type of asset allows for beneficiary designations.
Unlike with relying upon only beneficiary designations and joint tenancy and survivorship rights, we can create an estate plan that effectively anticipates changes in your circumstances.
Without a will, or a will and trust, you cannot effectively plan around estate tax and GST tax, name an executor, trustee, or other fiduciary to oversee your affairs, name guardians, or consider other contingencies.
An estate plan is especially important when you have young children. A will enables you to appoint the best candidate, or succession of candidates, as legal guardian for your children if you pass away.
Similarly, an estate plan enables you to name the person(s) you think is best to be trustee for your children until the children are mature enough to control their own inheritances. Having the ability to appoint guardians and create trusts for children is why so many parents hire us to prepare their estate plans.
Of course, parents benefit from all the other advantages of preparing an estate plan.
The federal estate tax is a 40% tax on the fair market value of all the assets in the deceased’s taxable estate after deducting the total amount of exemptions applicable to the taxable estate. “Taxable estate” for estate tax purposes is all of one’s assets worldwide including those in their revocable trust, assets with a beneficiary designation, and other assets wherever located, and not just their “estate” for Illinois probate purposes.
Assets in a taxable estate up to the estate tax exemption amount are exempt from the estate tax on a dollar for dollar basis. Bequests to a surviving spouse that qualify for the marital exemption or to charities that qualify for the charitable exemption are examples of exemptions from the federal estate tax that also reduce your taxable estate on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
The federal gift tax is a 40% tax on the fair market value of all non-exempt gifts made by you for a particular year. Bequests to surviving spouses that qualify for the marital exemption or to charities that qualify for the charitable exemption, or gifts to a particular person up to the annual exemption amount, are exempt gifts. Qualified educational and qualified medical payments are also examples of exempt gifts. A gift tax return is required to be filed for any year during which non-exempt gifts (i.e., “taxable gifts”) were made.
Payment of tax on an otherwise non-exempt gift can still be avoided if you formally elect to apply your available lifetime gift tax exemption to the gift by making that election on a federal gift tax return. The use of your lifetime gift tax exemption reduces the amount of your own available federal estate tax exemption amount upon your death on a dollar-for-dollar basis. For this reason, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is referred to as a “unified” or “lifetime” exemption.
The lifetime federal estate and gift tax exemption amount for 2026 is $15,000,000 (inflation adjusted starting in 2027).
Bequests and lifetime gifts in unlimited amounts to U.S. citizen spouses and qualified charities are exempt from federal estate and gift taxes.
Non-exempt lifetime gifts reduce on a dollar-for-dollar basis the federal estate exemption amount available to you upon your death.
The surviving spouse can use the unused federal exemption of a deceased spouse (“DSUE”) by the timely filing of a federal estate tax return for the estate of the deceased spouse. The DSUE amount is additional exemption added to the surviving spouse’s own lifetime estate and gift tax exemption.
Other than for gifts to a non-U.S. citizen spouse, the annual gift tax exemption amount for gifts during any year, which are not otherwise exempt, is $19,000 (2026). The annual federal gift tax exemption for gifts to a non-U.S. citizen spouse for 2026 is $194,000.
Illinois does not have a gift tax. However, lifetime non-exempt gifts (as defined under the federal gift tax rules) are considered in calculating the Illinois estate tax upon death. Depending upon the size of your taxable estate and the amount of your lifetime non-exempt gifts (as defined under the federal gift tax rules), lifetime gifts may reduce your Illinois estate tax.
We can prepare gifting strategies for you to reduce the size of your Illinois estate tax bill.
The federal GST tax is a 40% tax on certain generation skipping transfers to direct or indirect “skip persons”. Descendants of yours other than your children, such as your grandchildren or your great grandchildren, generally are examples of “skip persons.” Individuals of two generations lower are examples of skip-persons. There is not a GST tax on the transfer of assets to which lifetime GST tax exemption is allocated or which otherwise are not subject to the GST tax such as, for example, trusts that became irrevocable prior to the GST tax law.
The lifetime federal GST exemption amount is the same amount as the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption amount, being $15,000,000.00 (inflation adjusted starting in 2027).
A gift to an individual, or certain qualifying gifts in trust, which qualify for the annual gift tax exemption also are GST tax exempt.
An individual may allocate GST exemption to lifetime transfers. The individual’s remaining GST exemption amount at the time of their death may be allocated to transfers upon death.
The Illinois estate tax is a one-time tax that applies to the taxable estate of an Illinois resident, and to the taxable estate of a non-Illinois resident with assets that include Illinois real estate or tangible personal in Illinois. Illinois defines the taxable estate the same as the federal taxable estate. Assets in a deceased’s taxable estate are taxed at a rate most easily determined by the Illinois Attorney General calculator, https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/estate-taxes/2013-2025-estate-calculator.
The state of a non-Illinois resident with a taxable estate that includes real estate or tangible personal property of any value located in Illinois at the time of death (“Illinois situs property”) is subject to the Illinois estate tax if his or her total federal taxable estate (taxable estate wherever located) exceeds the Illinois’ estate tax exemption amount. The Illinois estate tax of the estate of a non-Illinois resident is calculated based on the proportion that the Illinois situs property is in relation to the deceased’s federal gross estate.
Bequests in unlimited amounts to U.S. citizen spouses and qualified charities are exempt from Illinois estate tax.
The Illinois estate tax exemption amount is $4,000,000. Unlike the federal estate tax exemption amount, a surviving spouse cannot use the unused Illinois estate tax exemption of a deceased spouse.
Married couples with anticipated combined estates of more than $4,000,000 should consider dividing their assets between themselves to take advantage of both spouse’s Illinois estate tax exemption amounts to minimize Illinois estate taxes as the order of death of spouses is unknowable. We can prepare Illinois estate tax returns for you.
The Illinois estate tax exemption amount of $4,000,000 does not adjust annually for inflation.
We recommend you review your estate plan with an attorney, experienced with preparing estate plans, every few years, and also in event of:
- Marriage
- Birth or adoption of a child
- Establishing a residence in Illinois:
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- Illinois has a separate state estate tax in addition to the federal estate tax. Individuals or couples who are Illinois residents with total assets more than the individual estate tax exemption amount of $4,000,000.00 should plan differently than in most other states.
- Illinois is not a community property state.
- An Illinois resident establishing a residence outside of Illinois. A Non-Illinois resident who owns real estate or tangible personal property in the State of Illinois is subject to the Illinois estate tax if their taxable estates exceeds the individual estate tax exemption amount of $4,000,000. We can assist you with recommending and implementing strategies for your estate not to be subject to the Illinois estate tax.
- Inheritance
- Increased wealth
- Growing older
- Death of a loved one
- Remarriage
- Divorce
- Changes in tax law
We recommend you engage an attorney, experienced with preparing estate plans, to assist you with preparing your estate plan.
Experienced estate planning attorneys, like us, devote all of their time and energy to preparing estate plans and assisting executors and trustees upon death with the administration of estates and trusts.
We have prepared hundreds of estate plans, and have represented hundreds of executors and trustees in administering estates and trusts. Because of our combination of experience, we understand how to prepare estate plans for clients in a way that upon the client’s passing accomplishes client goals, and also avoids unintended consequences or disputes. We understand the laws relevant to estate plans – income tax, estate and gift tax, generation skipping transfer (GST) tax, property, probate, and trust and estate, which are crucial to preparing estate plans to accomplish their goals.
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First, locate and secure the deceased’s last, original, signed (wet signature/inked) will. Illinois requires it to be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the deceased’s county of residence within 30 days of the death.
Be sure to secure the deceased’s property.
If the deceased had a revocable trust for which the deceased was trustee, be sure to document the successor trustee’s acceptance upon the deceased’s death. You should obtain a FEIN for the deceased’s trust that is separate and apart from the FEIN for the deceased’s estate. We can help you with these steps.
Determine whether the deceased’s estate includes assets that require probate. We are happy to help you with this. If appropriate, we help clients petition the court for a probate estate to be opened and for you to be appointed as executor if there is a will, or administrator if there is no will or the will does not name an executor. The executor or administrator should apply for a FEIN for the estate. We can assist you with these steps.
The trustee, or estate administrator or executor, should contact financial institutions holding assets and establish new accounts under the name of the trust for trust assets, or under the name of the estate for estate assets, income generated by the assets should be reported under the trust FEIN, or estate FEIN as the case may be, rather than the deceased’s social security number. The trustee, or executor or administrator is a fiduciary and is required to protect trust or estate assets from inappropriate risk.
A trust is a private legal arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages assets for the benefit of specific individuals or entities. An estate refers to the assets, debts, and liabilities in the individual name of a person upon their death. Only an executor or administrator appointed by the court has the authority to act as to estate assets.
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The trustee is required to safeguard and hold trust assets until the trustee distributes the assets, as provided in the declaration of trust.
A Trustee must administer trusts as provided in the declaration of trust. The trustee has fiduciary duties, including filing tax returns, properly investing funds, making distributions, and other fiduciary duties. Trustees are required to provide information to beneficiaries’ in a timely manner and we assist trustees with satisfying these disclosure responsibilities. We have considerable experience helping trustees fulfill their duties.
Probate is a process in which the court appoints an executor or administrator to transfer assets in the deceased’s estate to the people who are entitled to receive the assets. The administrator or executor is responsible for filing the deceased’s final tax returns, and performing other administrative tasks.
Assets in the deceased’s estate generally are assets that are not in trust and are without beneficiary designations or survivorship rights.
If the assets are not in trust and are without beneficiary designations or the survivorship rights total less than $150,000 excluding automobiles, one can usually avoid a formal probate court process using a Small Estate Affidavit.
If assets not in trust and without beneficiary designations and survivorship rights total more than $150,000 excluding automobiles, you usually need to petition the court to appoint yourself executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate. We help clients with these petitions.
The “executor” is the person named in a will to administer an estate. The “administrator” is the person appointed by the court to administer an estate when there is no will, or a will does not appoint an executor, or no person named in the will as executor is able or willing to serve.
Executors and administrators both are referred to as a “personal representative.”
After being appointed, the executor or administrator is required to safeguard the probate assets until the assets are properly distributed.
Additionally, executors and administrators have obligations that include sending notices to known creditors and publishing for unknown creditors. Unknown creditors have six months to file a claim from the time of publication. Regardless of the claims period after publication, claims against an estate are barred two years after the decedent’s death.
The executor or administrator also is required to file the deceased’s and estate’s income tax returns and may be required to, or may elect to, file a federal or Illinois estate tax return.
The executor or administrator should safeguard probate estate assets until the assets are distributed to the proper recipients.
The probate estate remains open until the court closes the estate and discharges the executor or administrator.
Please contact us to help you with the probate process so that estate assets are efficiently and correctly transferred from the name of the deceased to the proper recipients.
The probate court can appoint an administrator for the deceased’s estate, (known as “Administrator with will annexed”) if the named executor named in the will is unable or unwilling to act or there is no executor named in the will.
Typically, when a deceased person had a revocable trust, the person also had a will that stipulates that assets in the deceased’s estate (typically assets of the deceased that are not in a trust and are without beneficiary designations or survivorship rights) shall be transferred to the deceased’s revocable trust. This type of will is known as a “pour over will.”
If there are assets in the deceased’s estate, the pour over will provides that the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate shall transfer the estate assets to the trustee of the deceased’s revocable trust. Generally, probate will be required. However, if the deceased’s estate neither includes real property nor includes personal property with a value greater than $150,000 (excluding automobiles), probate of the estate assets may be avoided using a Small Estate Affidavit.
If the deceased died without a will, the law is that the deceased’s estate are distributed to the deceased’s heirs under the rules of intestacy. For this reason, even if the deceased had a revocable trust, it is important to locate the deceased’s original signed will or, otherwise, the deceased’s estate assets will be distributed pursuant to the rules of intestacy rather than distributed pursuant to the deceased’s wishes as provided in the deceased’s revocable trust.
If there is no will, the deceased’s estate (typically assets of the deceased that are not in a trust and are without beneficiary designations or survivorship rights) are required to be distributed to heirs as provided by the Illinois intestacy laws. Often, the intestacy laws do not reflect the typical deceased’s wishes. For example, the intestacy laws provide that the estate of a deceased person who dies intestate (meaning a person who dies without a will) shall be distributed one-half to the surviving spouse and one-half to the deceased’s living descendants, per stirpes, even though the deceased’s descendants may be minors and the deceased would have preferred the estate to be distributed all to or for the deceased’s surviving spouse.
Generally, probate is required to administer the assets in a deceased’s estate. However, if the deceased’s estate neither includes real property nor includes personal property with a value greater than $150,000 (excluding automobiles), probate of the estate assets may be avoided using a Small Estate Affidavit. When a person dies intestate (i.e., without a will), the court will appoint an administrator to administer the deceased’s estate. The law outlines who has preference in acting as, or nominating, an administrator of a deceased’s probate estate. The court will require the person petitioning to become administrator to post a bond, which is costly and easily avoidable through the preparation of a will waiving the requirement of bond.
For these reasons, it is important to have an estate plan.
We work to create a seamless web of service for you by coordinating with you, accountants, and financial institutions to ensure a prompt and efficient administration of estates and trusts. We help trustees, and executors and administrators in all phases of trust and estate administration including marshalling the assets, administrative compliance, communicating with beneficiaries, legatees, and heirs, and with making distributions.
We work with the deceased’s financial institutions so that the executor or trustee can manage the estate or trust assets in an expeditious and responsible manner. We work with your accountant so that the accountant has all relevant information for proper filings of returns and that estates and trusts do not unnecessarily drift into new tax years—saving clients time and money. Typically, we will prepare required federal and state estate tax returns for you, while your CPA will prepare the trust and estate income tax returns.
The trustee, and executor or administrator should confirm the following:
- real estate is physically secure
- real estate taxes are paid
- the deceased’s mail is accessible
- the deceased’s papers, devices and accounts are secure
- accessibility of deceased’s passwords
- deceased’s residence is properly insured under the name of the trust or estate, or new owner. If the property is unoccupied, the property should be insured as such.
- trust or estate assets are not subject to undue market fluctuation. A deceased’s assets, other than IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other retirement accounts, typically are entitled to an adjustment in basis for income tax purposes to the fair market value of the assets on the date of death. As such, the decision to sell a deceased’s assets subject to market fluctuation does not have the same capital gains tax considerations as sales by the deceased would have had.
The federal estate tax is a one-time only tax that requires the filing of Form 706 with the Internal Revenue Service for taxable estates in excess of the then current federal estate tax exemption amount (currently $15,000,000.00).
The estate tax rate is 40% for the estate tax and is applied to the fair market value of all the assets in the deceased’s taxable estate after deducting the total amount of exemptions applicable to the taxable estate.
Taxable estate for estate tax purposes is all of the deceased’s assets, including those in the deceased’s revocable trust, assets with a beneficiary designation, and other assets wherever located (including non-U.S. assets), and is not just the deceased’s “estate” for Illinois probate law purposes.
We prepare federal estate tax returns.
The federal estate and gift tax exemption amount is $15,000,000.00 (inflation adjusted starting in 2027).
Non-exempt lifetime gifts reduce on a dollar-for-dollar basis the federal estate exemption amount available to you upon your death.
The surviving spouse can use the unused federal exemption of a deceased spouse (“DSUE”) with the timely filing of a federal estate tax return for that deceased spouse. The DSUE amount is additional exemption added to the surviving spouse’s own lifetime estate and gift tax exemption.
A federal estate tax return filing is required when the deceased’s combined taxable estate and lifetime taxable gifts are more than the deceased’s available federal estate tax exemption amount, currently $15,000,000.00 (2026).
Even if you are not required to file a federal estate tax return, you may elect to file a federal estate tax return to make various tax elections, including:
- Electing for the surviving spouse to use the unused federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption of the deceased spouse (“DSUE”) on top of their own lifetime federal estate and gift tax exemption
- Making a QTIP election for all or a portion of the deceased’s trust so the trust qualifies for the federal marital exemption
- Allocating GST exemption to trusts
The Illinois estate tax is a one-time only tax that requires the filing of an Illinois estate tax return (form 700) for taxable estates in excess of the $4,000,000 Illinois exemption amount of a deceased Illinois resident (or of a deceased non-Illinois resident with a taxable estate that includes Illinois tax situs property). For an Illinois non-resident, Illinois tax situs property is Illinois real estate (either in or not in a trust) or tangible personal property physically located in Illinois either in trust or not in trust. Relevant exemptions are applied to the taxable estate before calculating the amount of the estate tax due.
Illinois defines the taxable estate in the same manner as Internal Revenue Code defines a taxable estate.
Assets in a deceased’s taxable estate are taxed at a rate most easily determined by the Illinois Attorney General calculator, https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/estate-taxes/2013-2025-estate-calculator.
The amount of the estate tax owed is calculated based on the proportion that the Illinois tax situs property in the taxable estate is in relation to the deceased’s total taxable estate. Illinois tax situs property for a deceased Illinois resident is the deceased’s intangible personal property (accounts, bank accounts, stocks, retirement accounts, etc.) and Illinois real estate either in or not in a trust and tangible personal property physically located in Illinois either in or not in a trust.
The Illinois estate tax exemption amount is $4,000,000 for each individual. Unlike the federal estate tax exemption amount, a surviving spouse cannot use the unused Illinois estate tax exemption of a deceased spouse. The $4,000,000 Illinois estate tax exemption amount for an individual does not adjust annually for inflation.
We prepare estate plans for married people with anticipated combined estates of more than $4,000,000 to take advantage of both spouse’s Illinois estate tax exemption amounts to minimize Illinois estate taxes. We typically do this by providing that the deceased spouse’s trust remain in existence for the benefit of the surviving spouse in a manner that the deceased spouse’s trust is not deemed part of the surviving spouse’s taxable estate for estate tax purposes.
We prepare Illinois estate tax returns in addition to Federal estate tax returns.
Yes, assets that are bequeathed to surviving spouses who are U.S. citizens that qualify for the marital exemption or to charities that qualify for the charitable exemption are examples of exemptions, over and above one’s individual estate tax exemption amount, from the estate tax.
An Illinois estate tax return filing is required when the deceased’s combined taxable estate and lifetime taxable gifts total more than the Illinois estate tax exemption amount for an individual, currently $4,000,000. We prepare Illinois estate tax returns.
The filing deadline is nine months from the date of death. The executor is entitled to file for an automatic six-month extension with the IRS and the State of Illinois. An extension to file an estate tax return does not extend the date required for payment of the estate tax.
The filing deadline is nine months from the date of death. The executor is entitled to file for an automatic six-month extension with the IRS and the State of Illinois. An extension to file an estate tax return does not extend the date required for payment of the estate tax.
The payment deadline is nine months from the date of death. An extension to file an estate tax return does not extend the date required for payment of the estate tax.
You should engage an attorney, experienced with administering estates and trusts, to assist you with administering your loved one’s estate and trust(s). Hiring an experienced and skilled professional law firm, like us, is crucial to navigate the complex legal and financial aspects of administration of a trust and estate and to ensure compliance with applicable laws.
We are experienced estate and trust administration attorneys. We devote all of our time and energy to assisting executors and trustees upon death with the administration of estates and trusts, and preparing estate plans.
We have represented hundreds of executors and trustees in administering estates and trusts. We understand how to administer trusts and estates so that the deceased’s wishes are accomplished and unintended consequences are avoided. We understand the relevant laws – fiduciary income tax, estate and gift tax, generation skipping transfer (GST) tax, property, probate, and trust and estate. We prepare state and federal estate tax returns.
To discuss Trust & Estate Administration Contact Us.