who prepares federal estate tax forms

[np]

My sister and I are co-executors and co-trustees for the estate of my mother who recently died in Illinois. Most of her estate is in trusts and will not go through probate. There is some confusion about whether her accountant (who is also a lawyer) or her attorney (who is also an accountant) will prepare the federal estate tax returns. When my father died, it was the accountant who prepared these tax returns (with the same cast of characters). However, now each of these people claims this responsibility. My questions: (1) Is there any precedent to help us distinguish which of these professionals should have this responsibility? (2) Should we simply base our decision on the person we have most confidence in doing the job? (3) Should the part of the estate that will go through probate be treated differently (e.g., with the lawyer preparing these estate tax returns) from the much more considerable part that is distributed in trusts (with the accountant handling these)? Thanks for any clarification.

 

[dmode101]

There will only be one federal estate tax return (and an IL return) that will include ALL property, probate and non-probate. I may be biased about this, and it certainly depends on the experience of these individuals, but I think that generally the attorney is better qualified to prepare the estate tax return. An estate tax return is by no means simple to prepare. There are many issues and details and if not done right will almost certainly be audited. You might ask each of them how many they have prepared before. You said that they each claim responsibility -- the decision is up to you and your sister -- you are their clients. Go with the person you are more comfortable with and make it clear as soon as possible so there is not duplicate work. Good luck.