I have been watching the "Antiques Road Show" too long.

Lets make an assumption that you have inherited a bunch of stuff, none
of which you think is valuable.

Lets further assume that the estate was so large that it was close to
being taxed by the Feds.

Later you find out to your delight that your slightly cracked teapot
is an astonishingly valuable antique, worth gazillions.

Had this been appraised at the time of the estate distribution, the
estate would now have to pay Federal Estate Taxes.  But a lot of time
has elapsed.

My question:  How long is "a lot of time".  In other words, how much
time must elapse before the estate does not have to be refiled, and
that the IRS will not get grumpy about your windfall?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 19 Mar 2003 16:16 PST

Thank you very much for requesting me by name!

Unfortunately, this is outside my areas of expertise, and I've been
unable to locate any good information for you. Will you consider
allowing another Researcher to answer this question? We have some real
tax whizzes around here, such as taxmama-ga.

~Pink

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Clarification of Question by liner-ga on 20 Mar 2003 06:19 PST

Pinkfreud--you are off the hook.  Anybody who feels competent to
answer this is welcome.

I would not have mentioned you but for the fact that I did see similar
questions answered by you earlier, and I like your style. (and your
previous answer for me.)

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 20 Mar 2003 06:44 PST

Many thanks for the kind words. 

You may want to consider closing this question and reposting it
*without* my name in the title; as it stands, it's possible that other
Researchers may see the 'For PINKFREUD' and not even open the
question.

Sorry I couldn't help on this one. Sometimes the exact keyphrases for
seeking out certain info just elude me. I wouldn't be surprised if one
of GA's tax specialists can home in on this quickly, though.

~Pink

I find it hard to imagine that a slightly cracked pot is worth a lot
of money. If you have not actually sold the pot, my guess is you have
no tax liability. Anyone spending more than $10,000 on a single
transaction, or depositing more than $10,000 (perhaps less) in a
single account is noted by the IRS computer and could be audited
and/or questioned. Since that is nerve racking at best, you should
consider filling an amended whatever when and if you receive a big
check for this pot. If you get paid in cash (small bills) or several
small checks and are good at bluffing, you may suceed in giving IRS
little or nothing even if someone turns you in for tax fraud. That is
my non-professional opinion.   Neil