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Sigh. It no longer surprises me, but it still always dismays me when heirs fight and bicker and get recalcitrant, obstreperous, and uncooperative. It makes me want to sit them down and read them the riot act about being grateful for getting *anything* rather than greedy and unhappy that they didn't get more. It also underscores for all of us the need to let everyone know what the general plan of distribution is, and to have copies in multiple places of any document so one jackass can't mess up the lives of many people just by being a jerk.

OK now Rich - you need to post a picture of *your* sign. Inquiring minds want to know!

Ok... it sort of reminded me of one in front of a funeral home... You know, if they don't get hugged... Great sign, however. I should show you the one in front of my office... can't get the landlord to replace it. Rich

I bought the building in 2004. It was a day spa then. Before that, a hot tub business. No, you can't make this up.

I will, I have to go take a picture... This is my other office. Maybe Abby can snap a picture, I wont be there till Tuesday. This is my sign for my main office. Rich

Definitely read the trust doc. The trust likely became irrevocable at death and should have filed 1041 each year, but since there was no income or expenses all those years one wasn't necessary. (Expect IRS to come back when the current 1041 is filed and demand the past ones--a simple letter should clear it up.) What you are finding on the tax return makes no sense. If you brought the gain to zero, then line 9 (total income) should be zero. The tax on nothing is nothing. Further, if you marked the box for final return, all income and expenses get passed through to the beneficiaries and the trust pays no tax. Perhaps you haven't added the beneficiary info yet so the program doesn't know what to do with the income distribution deduction? Realtor fees and closing costs get added to basis. (They can't be treated as administrative expenses because a "related party" was living in the home.) Fix up costs are also added to basis. Your fee, by the way, is deductible on line 14, even if it hasn't been paid yet or goes into the next fiscal year. I don't have the cite with me, but politicians (many of whom are attorneys) decided unpaid attorney fees could be deducted and for some reason included accountants in on the perk. Property taxes usually go on line 11. However, if they were paid on behalf of a beneficiary who was using the home, you can't deduct them. They instead get taken from that person's share of the distribution. You really need to read the trust doc to determine what to do. Don't be afraid of this. It's a very straightforward 1041--one transaction and some expenses. The 1041 instructions are all you need to read.

They are giving the 2016 edition to show what they are ==== however, if you want the 2017 edition, you will have to order them later ///// and of course pay for them. At least that is how I read my quote offer.

I have a sign in front of the building, and try to keep a friendly or funny message up. I currently have "Walk-Ins Welcome - Surprise Me" on it. I really feel like that sign was responsible for 15 new clients this year. People are not afraid to come in. I have heard, "Surprise!" about 100 times since January. (That's gettin old and tired, not gonna lie.) Below is a picture of what I had on there previously. My kids' friends got a kick out of it, but it caused some confusion, especially with one fella who was worried about me and my family issues. You win some, you learn some.

I would make one adjustment - don't just mail out a mass mailer to everyone, mail it out to new homeowners near your office. Pretty good chance they moved far enough that they are in the market for someone closer to home. Sales opportunities occur by hitting people up during life changing events. New kids, new home, new spouse or new ex-spouse, death of a family member etc. During those events, people are open to new ideas or have new needs. I think it was Michael Dell who used this to make over $18k per year in high school selling newspaper subscriptions by solely targeting new homeowners versus every mailing address.

I agree with Lion and Sara. You need to read the trust document. And Sara's explanation was right on point. I would just add that I have seen trusts wherein they allow a beneficiary (non-starter child or a disabled child or other disabled relative) to remain in the house without paying for any housing expense. But these trusts are usually funded in some manner to cover those costs. And accordingly, since the funding is usually in interest bearing or dividend producing investments, a continuing reporting on 1041 is required. The most curious thing I find about the present case is if there was that much back tax owed, how come there had not been a tax foreclosure sale?

Saw a good one the other day out in front of a church: "Fire Insurance Available Here"