Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee
Estates
Have a check from my father's retirement plan dated 10/15/01 in the amount of $3,678.45, made payable to the Estate of (my father's name). I was the administratix of my father's estate but recall trying to deposit this check shortly after his death and the bank told me I had to have a Tax ID number and Letters of Testamentary. All I had was Letter of Administration. I put it aside and obviously forgot about it.
What do I need to do to cash this check?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Estates
You need to apply to the IRS for a Tax ID number for the estate, then open a bank account in the name of the estate, and deposit the check. Then you should be sure to list the amount of the check on the inventory, and continue to administer the estate.
To close out the estate, you will need to file an estate tax return with the IRS, as well. And it could very well be that there is no tax due, but you will need to file the final return.
The Letters Testamentary are the Letter of Administration that the bank will need.
Of course, all of this is relevant if you have NOT closed the estate. If you have closed the estate, you will need to open the estate back up to get valid Letters of Administration.
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