What can I expect when filing Mom's income tax return?

Great article. Thanks for the info, it’s easy to understand. BTW, if anyone needs to fill out a form 2848, I found a blank form here http://goo.gl/2tCpvf. This site also has some tutorials on how to fill it out and a few related tax documents.

patathome01 suggested contacting local attorney.....but.....if there are no funds left, who is going to pay the attorney's bills (which everyone knows are usually pretty significant)?

My brother in OR is handling Mom's financial affairs and will contact her local attorney if there are any questions. Since Mom spent down all of her funds to Medicaid to pay for her assisted living care, no income will be reported to the IRS.

If you are the one named on the IRS form, you file. Don't forget to return the social security she received in the last month of death. Lots of helpful information given here. When in doubt, consult a probate attorney.

Powers of Attorney aren't valid for a deceased person.

You must have had an attorney involved in these heir-ship affidavits. Ask that person who files. Re what to do with any refund, that's state-law dependent. In all likelihood, it'll be made out to "The Estate of Mom."

Here in Illinois, one might try depositing it by writing FOR DEPOSIT ONLY on the back of the check (no signature) and putting it into HER checking/savings account. I say "might" because some tellers might question it and, thus, not allow you to do that.

Again, here in Illinois, if the bank wouldn't allow you to deposit it, one would have to draw up a Small Estate Affidavit and take that to the bank along with the check in order to cash it. Here in Illinois, the attorney fee to draw up the Small Estate Affidavit might run around $250.

If you have a signed IRS form 2848 Power of Attorney, then you should be able to file the federal return without difficulty, providing you can locate all the records for income in your mom's final year. More information can be found if you go to www.irs.gov and search (upper right-hand of screen) for "deceased person." A brief explanation will be one of the topics which are then listed; look for "Filing the Final Return of a Deceased Person" for a brief description of what to do and where to find more detailed information. From what you've described, you should be able to get assistance from a nearby AARP Foundation Tax Aide site (search for "tax" at www.aarp.org to find a location) during tax filing season.