When to file Form 56 before court appointment as executor for deceased father's taxes

This is actually a common scenario. You can still file Form 56 before receiving your formal court appointment. On the form, in Part II where it asks about your authority, check box "f" for "Other" and write in "Pending appointment as executor" or "Executor named in will, court appointment pending." The IRS understands that there's often a gap between a person's death and when the courts formally appoint the executor. What's important is that someone is taking responsibility for the tax matters. For payment concerns, you have a couple options. You could pay the taxes personally and keep detailed records for reimbursement once you're appointed. Alternatively, if your father had a bank account and you're listed on it, you might be able to use those funds directly with appropriate documentation.

After going through a similar situation last year with my mom's estate, I found an incredibly helpful resource called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me so much stress with all the estate tax paperwork. I uploaded the will, death certificate, and other documents, and their system analyzed everything and helped me fill out Form 56 correctly even before I had my official appointment. The service guided me through exactly what to put in each section based on my situation, and even helped me understand what documentation I would need to maintain for reimbursement from the estate. They also have experts who review everything to make sure it's done properly.

I just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai. I decided to give it a try after posting my skeptical comment, and I'm honestly impressed. I uploaded my brother's will and death certificate, and it immediately identified my "pending executor" status and created the proper notation for Form 56. What really helped was their walkthrough for handling tax payments before official appointment - they generated a document template for me to use when paying taxes from personal funds that will make reimbursement from the estate much easier later. They even explained exactly what records to keep. Definitely worth checking out if you're in this situation.

If you're worried about getting through to the IRS to ask questions about your Form 56 situation, I recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent DAYS trying to get through to someone at the IRS about my late husband's taxes last year, and it was impossibly frustrating. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold. They have a demo video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically they navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you when they've got an agent on the line. I was able to get specific guidance about filing Form 56 before my court appointment and exactly what documentation I needed to maintain.

I have to come back and admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided I had nothing to lose and tried it. Within 45 minutes, I was talking to an actual IRS agent about my Form 56 filing situation. The agent confirmed everything about filing with "pending appointment" status and gave me specific guidance on documenting my out-of-pocket tax payments for reimbursement. This saved me so much time and stress - I probably would have given up after another failed 3-hour hold attempt. If you're dealing with estate tax issues and need specific guidance from the IRS, this service is absolutely worth it. Wish I'd known about it months ago.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you're using the most current version of Form 56! The IRS updated it recently and using an outdated form can cause delays. You can download the current version directly from irs.gov. Also, keep in mind that filing Form 56 doesn't extend the payment deadline. If April 15th is approaching and you still don't have court appointment, you might want to consider filing for an extension using Form 4768 for the estate. This gives you an additional 6 months to file, though you still need to estimate and pay any taxes due by the original deadline to avoid penalties.

Just wanted to add something based on personal experience - make sure you notify all financial institutions where your father had accounts of his passing and your pending executor status. Some will let you access accounts to pay for necessary expenses (like taxes) before formal appointment with a copy of the death certificate and will. This helped me avoid having to pay my mother's taxes out of pocket. I was able to open an estate account with the bank where she had her checking account by showing them her death certificate and the will naming me as executor, even before the court formalized my appointment. Then I could use those funds to pay her final taxes without dipping into my own money.

I went through this exact situation with my mom's estate two years ago. The key thing to remember is that Form 56 is really about establishing communication with the IRS, not proving your legal authority. You can absolutely file it before your court appointment. When I filed mine, I checked the "Other" box in Part II and wrote "Named executor in will, court appointment pending." The IRS accepted it without any issues. What really helped me was keeping a detailed log of every action I took and every dollar I spent on behalf of the estate before my formal appointment. One tip that saved me a lot of headaches: when you do get your official court documents, file a new Form 56 right away with your updated status. This creates a clear paper trail showing the progression from pending to appointed executor. The IRS appreciates having that documentation in their files. Also, don't stress too much about paying taxes out of pocket initially. As long as you keep receipts and document everything properly, reimbursement from the estate is straightforward once you're appointed. I got every penny back without any complications.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now with my grandmother's estate. She passed away 6 weeks ago and I'm named as executor in her will, but the probate court is backed up and I'm still waiting for my formal appointment. What's been really helpful for me is creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything - date, action taken, amount spent (if any), and purpose. For example: "3/15/2024 - Filed Form 56 with pending executor status - $0 - Notify IRS of responsibility for tax matters" or "3/20/2024 - Paid estimated taxes from personal funds - $2,847 - Avoid penalties on grandmother's final return." I've also been taking photos of every document and keeping both physical and digital copies of receipts. My estate attorney said this level of documentation will make the reimbursement process much smoother once I'm officially appointed. One question I have for anyone who's been through this - should I be concerned about the IRS sending correspondence to my grandmother's address during this interim period? I've been checking her mail regularly, but I'm worried something important might get missed or returned.