[Sykes]

My father recently passed away. I am one of 3 executors listed in his Will. I am a US resident (green card holder) my father was non resident or citizen.

If the Executors open an Estate account in the country of my farther residence would I need to report this Estate account to the IRS, if the balance exceeds $10,000USD or equivalent? I would be a singator but the funds in the account are in no way mine and at time of Estate closing the funds belong to the beneficiaries of the Will, I am not a beneficiary.

One option being put forward it for the Estate to open a client account with the law office handling probate/administrators and use that rather than a bank account. This would be easier, simpler and cheaper than opening an offshore bank account. Would this need reporting?

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

You need to contact an international tax consultant who, in addition to being an expert in U.S. tax law, has some familiarity with the tax laws of your father's country.

In my opinion, your situation is simply too complicated to properly address on this forum.

[Sykes]

AtlTax,

Thanks for your reply. The Estate has taken advise in the countries where my father had assets and probate has been obtained. As the Estate has no US obligations its more a personal issues for myself as an executor, and my individual reporting obligations to the IRS.

I understand that if I were to have personal account or be the beneficial owner of an account over $10k USD I would have a reporting obligation but in this instance, although the account will be over $10K and I have joint signatory powers on the account, I can not personally benefit nor are the funds in anyway mine. As I mentioned before although I am an Executor of my fathers Estate, I am not a beneficiary.

Do I have an overly simple view of the situation which is actually a lot more complex than I think it is? Thanks for any help,

[IntlTax]

You need to file the FBAR if you have an interest in the account OR if you have signature (or other) authority over the account. Thus, if the account has a balance of more than $10,000 at any point during the year, you would need to report the account on the FBAR. If you need to file, file. Don't try so hard to avoid filing a simple disclosure form that has no tax due.

[MukatA]

Yes, you must file Form TD F 90-22.1 (FBAR).

[Sykes]

Thank you, I will file the FABAR.