Catherine

I adore Maxine!

Lenders are NOT supposed to issue that 1099-C unless and until they have disposed of the property, and have decided that further waiting to collect on any balance owed is not in there interests. Only then can they know exactly how much debt they have forgiven, and so issue the 1099-C. One of the recurring issues with those 1099-C's is specifically that banks refrain, oftentimes for *years*, from issuing them as they have not made a final disposition of the property and/or have not made a final decision not to pursue repayment options. One can certainly look up (on Zillow, in public county records, in online town records) the price at which a foreclosed house sold. These are all public records. If the house hasn't been sold, there is no basis on which to issue that 1099-C. If it has, then if it sold for the outstanding balance owed to the foreclosing bank -- or more! -- there is also no cause to issue a 1099-C, ever (we set aside here the case of multiple loan issuers on one property). It is only when a property is sold for LESS than the loan balance that there is any call for a 1099-C. And that 1099-C is supposed to be for the difference between the outstanding loan balance and what the property was sold for. Certainly it bears scrutiny that there might have been additional loans on this property. But on the surface, it sure looks like the bank (1) jumped the gun in issuing that 1099-C, or (2) issued it for an incorrect amount. Plenty of folks working in banks who don't understand these intricacies; could have been as simple as a worker misunderstanding an instruction, or covering for someone else and unwittingly working past their level of competence.

Oh, my *deepest* sympathies!!!

These things *usually* begin with, "Here, hold my beer and watch this!"...

I had one of those last year. Argh!

I had ONE return where the problem was that I had something not coded correctly. I called Drake support and they walked me through figuring out what had happened, fixed it, and helped me figure what to do should I come across something similar in future. Call support! -- One of the (many) GREAT things about Drake.

Not sure about the "intellectuals" -- perhaps engineers might be a better descriptive. http://www.tickld.com/x/20-jokes-that-only-intellectuals-will-understand Sample: 2. What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?

Fortunately for me, the only "therapist" things clients have told to me is about money issues. I shudder to think what else I could be hearing from some of these folks...

And I have had clients tell me, "I've told you things I haven't even told my therapist!"

NECPA get better soon!

I have a client who refused for years to e-file. (Client is a computer systems security specialist.) Once she found out that the same info gets input, by hand, into those same IRS servers (with the possibility of input errors), she let me e-file.

I have not run into it -- but you could try duplicating the return and e-filing the duplicate.

Also if you have Adobe Acrobat (and registerable, slightly older versions are available on ebay, cheap) you can put on whatever watermark you want, in any orientation, color, opacity, etc.

Naps are woefully under-appreciated. Twenty or thirty minutes can make the difference between yawning your way through an afternoon of getting almost nothing done, and really making headway. I love naps.

I am so glad to hear this happy outgrowth from the so-sad event. May you two have many, many wonderful and happy years together, and the memory of the years with your first sweetheart stay fresh and sweet.

...and the fundamental reason why socialism doesn't work. When step #1 must benefit someone other than self, step #1 doesn't get taken. Turn it around -- every two boxes they buy for themselves you will buy ONE box for the office to share. THEN you'll get sales!

I have to partially disagree with you on this one, KC. While the hairdressers and barbers are not themselves authorities, their brothers-in-law sure are!

Hardest are the older folks who made seventeen gazillion trips to Goodwill when they were selling their homes to move to apartments or assisted living. Some trips for one or two little items -- but probably all they could handle that day. I help with valuations, too -- but usually in figuring out *where* on that SA list something is/qualifies for. The older folks get all bent out of shape agonizing over whether an electric fondue set is a kitchen pot/pan or a small electric appliance, and dither and worry. So it's not the assigning valuation so much as helping them decide what on this SA list encompasses what they wrote down on their list. Then we look at the price range and I let them decide. It really takes lots of time, though -- yet these folks (1) only do it once each, praise be, and (2) are *so* grateful for the help.

I want to know where KC got the cool new emoticon!

It is astounding -- there are only a couple of inches, yet person after person after person blindly follows the path and very few try to cut across the ankle-deep un-shoveled parts.

That was wonderful!!!!

Massachusetts can (and sometimes does) reject an extension, after-the-fact, if they decide it wasn't valid for lack of payment at the time it was filed. So they add on more penalties and more interest... and I find it is being used more, as an excuse to steal more money from taxpayers.

Oh, like we have TIME to learn how to get things done!!! (Someone really needs to develop a sarcasm font, y'know?)

At least that is better than not being able to open returns without a non-existent password!

Something similar happened to me -- only with my TCC for transmitting 1099s. Got the number I have been using in 2008 and this year it didn't work. So I called and asked, and they told me that in early Feb I was assigned an entirely new number! That one now works, but (1) no one ever told me (didn't get a letter), and (2) no one knows what happened or why.