After making the final distribution to the beneficiaries, final tasks remained to close the estate. As mentioned in the article Closing the Estate: Send Assent Forms to Close the Estate, distributing all the funds in the estate account was necessary to close the estate. Unfortunately, after the final distribution, the $5000.00 estate reserve was still part of the estate account. As a result, the final tasks to close the estate were as follows:

• Make the final payments to the professionals.

• Distribute the remaining funds in the estate reserve to each beneficiary.

• Close the estate account.

Although eager to complete the tasks, making another tedious distribution dimmed the mood.

Making the Final Payments to the Professionals

The first task in the list of final tasks was to pay the professionals still working with the estate. Fortunately, this task was quick because the attorney and tax professional agreed to a final payment. On October 29, 2013, in an email conversation with the attorney, the attorney agreed to send me a final invoice. Soon after the invoice arrived, I immediately sent the final payment.

Around the same time of releasing the attorney, the tax professional agreed to take the final payment previously billed. As mentioned in the article The Estate Income Tax Returns: The Plan to Complete the Returns, the tax professional would complete four returns: a fiscal year return and a short year return for both state and federal. So, before the first distribution, the tax professional sent me an invoice to complete the four returns. The first payment was due before starting the fiscal year returns. Accordingly, the second and final payment was due before starting the short year returns. However, in a phone call to the tax professional, the tax professional agreed to accept the final payment immediately. So, after the conversation, I instantly sent the final payment to the tax professional.

After making the final payments to the professionals, a little more than $2500.00 remained in the estate account. Since the distribution formula didn’t allow for equal shares to each beneficiary, this would make for an interesting distribution.

The Distribution to Close the Estate Account

After paying off the professionals, it was time to distribute the remaining funds in the estate reserve. With little money to distribute to twenty beneficiaries in different shares, this was the toughest distribution. So, on November 11, 2013, I began calculating another distribution with the following reservations:  

• The beneficiaries receiving the least may receive an amount less than the postage to send them the check.

• With so little in the check, the beneficiaries may ignore the check placing the estate in limbo.

Fortunately, after completing the calculations, the beneficiaries receiving the least would receive a little over $10.00 each. So, that night, I sent an email to all beneficiaries explaining that another distribution was necessary to close the estate. In addition, the email pleaded with the beneficiaries to deposit the checks quickly so I could close the estate. The next day, the checks were in the mail and all I could do was wait. While waiting, my attention was partially on the estate account checking every few days for cleared checks. Fortunately, two weeks later, on November 25, 2013, the last check cleared. As a result, I went to the bank the next day and closed the estate account.

After closing the estate account, the journey was finally over. With the estate finally closed, a sense of accomplishment and elation came over me. There remained some clean up tasks, but at least the worrying over expenses and belligerent beneficiaries was over. In my mind, since none of the beneficiaries contested the estate, the estate administration was a success.

The Final Tasks for the Acting Executor

While dealing with the estate closing, the fiscal year returns arrived in the mail. As a result, I was able to file the fiscal year returns simultaneously with closing the estate. The only task remaining in the estate was dealing with the short year returns. So, on November 26th, with the estate closed, I became an acting executor again. As the acting executor, the following tasks were in front of me:  

• Review the short year returns.

• Mail the short year returns to the IRS and the Massachusetts DOR.

• Send the federal Schedule K-1 and the Massachusetts Schedule 2K-1 to each beneficiary showing their share of the tax liability passed to them.

So, as acting executor, there was more work ahead. 

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