Are inheritance tax files public record?
Inheritance tax files are confidential unless you are a legal heir or the attorney for the estate. To view the file, bring a picture ID if you are a legal heir to the office of the county assessor. An attorney must provide a copy of the formal appearance letter filed with the Probate Court. If there is no estate opened, the attorney must provide a letter stating whom he or she represents. • I have been told to file a form IH-6 at court. My grandmother’s accounts were in a trust and there is no estate. I was told I could avoid all probate and inheritance taxes!! Filing the IH-6 in the Probate Court does not mean that you have an estate or have to open one; that is just where the IH-6 is filed with all the correct documents. The IH-6 is a listing of all assets, exemptions, and deductions. Consider it an accounting of all financial matters. An IH-6 may indeed show that no tax is due, and its filing is a requirement where assets change ownership upon the death of an individual and a tax is
