My dad passed Feb 2013. There is no will and we did not go through probate per court guidance. Do I sign tax forms?

Upon a death, unless the estate is in a trust, you must go through Probate Court, but you would do well to contact social security, the IRS (we know how much they love getting into our business), and consult an attorney (legal aid) if you cannot afford one. Try searching again for any written document your dad may have had around the house. I am sorry for your loss.

And Queenie1, since you indicate there is a house, don't you have to probate that in order to change the title? Or was the house in a trust or already also in someone else's name? If the last situation is the case, someone else's name is also on the deed, I believe there is some paperwork that must be filed to remove your father's name from the deed. Oh, there is always so much to do when someone passes. It is rarely 100 percent organized ahead of time and just makes everything that much tougher on the family.

My sincere condolences to you and your family. My husband passed away May 2012 4 months after my sister passed away of cancer. My husband was extremely sudden as no one knew that there was anything wrong. I was out of town taking care of my sister's final stuff when he passed. Like your situation there was nothing in place, he was a week away from going to get that all taken care of but unfortunately never made it. Things were a terrible mess, there was money in the bank, he had a law suit going on which is still not finished there is money there that he intended for the kids. Then there was the estate which he didn't have any large outstanding bills or anything but everything was frozen. My middle son was the one who discovered his dad so he signed the death certificate which made him responsible for all final paper work. Banks,life insurance policy, estate ect. He also had to finalize his taxes this year for last year and send out death certificates to various places. I know that this probably don't help but I thought I would share it. Again my sincere condolences I know how tough it is.

Sorry for your loss, all I know is that personal representative assigned by the court pays the taxes. I would call IRS to help you with this. I know it sounds like it will be annoying to call, but I have done this and yes you follow prompts, but you can get information easily. Also, you can request this information by sending it in online and waiting for a response.

Many condolences on your father's passing. You'll want to ask the IRS or download publication 559 for survivors, executors and administrators. This is assuming he had no surviving spouse? If your mother or step mom still lives and we're currently married to your dad, she would sign in surviving spouse. Rddentially, the responsibility to complete and sign tax forms for a deceased individual falls to whoever is handling the person final distribution of property. Pub 559 tells you how to sign as well as where on the form to indicate their death.It's relatively simple and straightforward but if in doubt be sure to ask a tax preparer, accountant or attorney.