How soon after a death does the estate need to be opened/closed?
Full text of question: My father died recently and nobody seems particularly interested in taking care of the legal work. Are there time deadlines for winding up an estate? Are there also deadlines for starting the process? Answer: Under both Louisiana and federal law, any death taxes that may be due from the estate or from the heirs must be paid no later than nine months after the date of death. So, if taxes are due and remain unpaid after nine months, penalty and interest start to accrue. You could therefore say that the time limit to wind up an estate is nine months from the date of death unless an extension is granted for filing the tax returns. As for starting the process, the sooner it is started the better. The attorney for the estate will need a listing of assets and liabilities to be able to prepare some of the initial paperwork and to determine whether tax returns are even necessary.
