What the Estate Owes: Claims, Creditors, and Tax Obligations 2026

This program is an excerpt from Handling a Basic Probate 2026.

From creditor claims to Form 706

Estate administration puts practitioners at the intersection of creditor law and tax compliance. Mistakes in either area can expose the estate to liability, delay distribution, or trigger avoidable penalties. Whether you’re navigating a contested claim, managing an insolvent estate, or determining whether a federal estate tax return is required, the procedures and requirements are technical, time-sensitive, and unforgiving.

What the Estate Owes: Claims, Creditors, and Tax Obligations gives you a practical command of both sides of estate administration. Presenters Delaney B. Agnew and Michael Bezoian walk through creditor claim procedures and federal estate tax return preparation, with attention to the common issues and procedural pitfalls that arise in practice.

You’ll learn:

• Requirements for presenting creditor claims, including notice obligations, filing deadlines, and exceptions to claim-bar statutes
• Procedures for contesting claims, resolving disputes, and the statutory priority of claims in an insolvent estate
• How marital property issues arise during estate administration and how asset classification affects creditor rights and distributions
• When a federal estate tax return is required, what assets must be included in the gross estate, and how those assets should be valued
• Available deductions, required attachments, filing deadlines, and portability considerations when preparing Form 706

Administer with confidence

Estate administration demands precision at every step. What the Estate Owes: Claims, Creditors, and Tax Obligations gives you the tools to handle creditor claims and tax filing obligations efficiently and avoid the procedural missteps that can derail even straightforward estates.