It can be either a blessing or a curse to be appointed as the Personal Representative of an estate or Trustee of a trust (collectively a "Fiduciary"). One of the most over looked aspects of the job is the fact that the U.S. Government has a "general tax lien" on all estate and trust property when a decedent leaves assessed and unpaid taxes and a "special tax lien" for estate taxes on a decedent's death. As a result, when advising a Fiduciary on the estate and trust administration process it is important to inform them that with the responsibility also comes the potential for personal liability.
On many occasions a Fiduciary may be placed into a position where assets passing outside the probate estate (life insurance, jointly held property, retirement accounts, and pension plans) or trust, over which they have no control, constitute a substantial portion of the assets (real property, stocks, cash, etc.) subject to estate taxation. Without the ability to direct or assume control of the assets the Fiduciary may have both a liquidity problem and lack of means to satisfy the estates tax (income or estate) obligation. For this reason alone, a Fiduciary should be very reluctant to distribute any funds to a beneficiary before all statute of limitation periods expire for the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") to assess a tax deficiency.
Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") §6012(b) holds a Fiduciary responsible for filing the decedent's final income and estate tax returns. IRC §6903(a) further establishes a Fiduciary's responsibility for representing the estate in all tax matters upon filing the required Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship (IRS Form 56). Under IRC §6321, when the tax is not paid an IRS lien will spring into being. When an estate or trust possesses insufficient assets to pay all its debts, federal law requires the Fiduciary to first satisfy any federal tax deficiencies before any other debt (31 U.S.C. §3713 and IRC §2002).
A Fiduciary who fails to abide by this requirement will subject themselves to personally liability for the amount of the unpaid tax deficiency (31 U.S.C. §3713(b)). An exception arises when an individual has obtained an interest in the property that would prevail over the federal tax lien under IRC §6323 (United States v. Estate of Romani, 523 U.S. 517 (1998)). When there are insufficient estate or trust assets to pay a federal tax obligation, as a result of the Fiduciary's actions, the IRS may collect the tax obligation directly from the Fiduciary without regard to transferee liability (United States v. Whitney, 654 F.2d 607 (9th Cir. 1981)). If the IRS determines a Fiduciary to be personally liable for the tax deficiency it will be required to follow normal deficiency procedures in assessing and collecting the tax (IRC §6212).
Under IRC §3713, a Fiduciary will be held personally liable for a federal tax liability if the following conditions precedent are satisfied: (i) the U.S. Government must have a claim for taxes; (ii) the Fiduciary must have: (a) knowledge of the government's claim or be placed on inquiry notice of the claim, and (b) paid a "debt" of the decedent or distributed assets to a beneficiary; (iii) the "debt" or distribution must have been paid at a time when the estate or trust was insolvent or the distribution created the insolvency; and (iv) the IRS must have filed a timely assessment against the fiduciary personally (United States v. Coppola, 85 F.3d 1015 (2d Cir. 1996)). For purposes of IRC §3713, the term "debt" includes the payment of: (i) hospital and medical bills; (ii) unsecured creditors; (iii) state income and inheritance taxes (conflict between U.S. Blakeman, 750 F. Supp. 216, 224 (N.D. Tex. 1990) and In Re Schmuckler's Estate, 296 N.Y. 2d 202, 58 Misc. 2d 418 (1968)); (iv) a beneficiary's distributive share of an estate or trust; and (v) the satisfaction of an elective share. In contrast, the term "debt" specifically excludes the payment of: (i) a creditor with a security interest; (ii) funeral expenses (Rev. Rul. 80-112, 1980-1 C.B. 306); (iii) administration expenses (court costs and reasonable fiduciary and attorney compensation) (In Re Estate of Funk, 849 N.E.2d 366 (2006)); (iv) family allowance (Schwartz v. Commissioner, 560 F.2d 311 (8th Cir. 1977)); and (v) a "homestead" interest (Estate of lgoe v. IRS, 717 S.W. 2d 524 (Mo. 1986)).
In order to collect the federal tax deficiency the IRS possesses the option to either file a lawsuit against the Fiduciary in federal district court, pursuant to IRC. §7402(a), or issue a notice of fiduciary liability under IRC § 6901(a)(1)(B and commence collection efforts. The statute of limitations for issuing a notice of fiduciary liability is the later of one year after the fiduciary liability arises or the expiration of the statute of limitations for collecting the underlying tax liability (IRC § 6901(c)(3)).
Before collection efforts can be started the IRS must first establish that the decedent's estate or trust is insolvent (debts exceed the fair market value of assets) or possesses insufficient assets to pay the outstanding tax liability. "Insolvency" can only be established when the estate or trust possesses insufficient assets under the Fiduciary's custody and control to satisfy the tax liability. With regard to non-probate or trust assets included in a decedents gross estate, IRC §2206-2207B empowers a Fiduciary to obtain from the beneficiary the portion of the estate tax attributable to those assets.
Part Two: Reducing Fiduciary Liability