Q: My brother died without paying taxes for over ten years. There was no will or executor. Nothing left. Who must pay?
Brother died with no will and around ten years of unpaid federal taxes. No executor was formally declared, Father is beneficiary of 401k that was collected and cashed, Small cash ammount taken out of bank by other brother and apartment cleaned out. Other brother did not formally settle the estate nor did father due to dimentia and being put into old folks home. I am the POA for my father.
A:
Hello,
Normally, when a person dies their assets go through probate. And those assets are subject to the claims of creditors - including the IRS. This allows the IRS to go after the estate for the payment of back taxes. It is the responsibility of the person designated to distribute the property (fiduciary / administrator) to pay the federal tax claim. If that person fails to do so, the IRS may hold the fiduciary personally liable for the debt.
Please note some assets do not go through probate, usually those that have a named beneficiary. Therefore, those assets are not subject to the claims of creditors. If the IRS determines that there are no assets (or not enough) available to satisfy its claims, the IRS may close the case as currently not collectible.
To determine who is responsible for your brother's back taxes, I encourage you to contact a tax professional or attorney. You can provide them with the facts of your case (including, who was the named administrator, information on the 401k, amount of tax debt, existence of tax liens, etc) that may be helpful in providing you an answer tailored to your case.
A: It is the responsibility of the estate of decedent to pay the taxes. This may be done through an executor (named in the will) or administrator (court appointed) in a probate proceeding. The 401(K) generally goes to the named beneficiary in the document outside the probate. Consult a probate attorney, or the local bar to get a pro bono attorney.
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