Quote Originally Posted by Tybee View Post
Thanks to everyone who posted; it looks like 7 years for almost all of these papers, which is longer than I wanted to keep them, but better safe than sorry. Will give my boxes one more go-over and get rid of anything that doesn't fit the "must keep for taxes" or isn't in the "this is interesting family information to know." I already had something like that pop out yesterday that answered a question I had had about how long my mom worked, at what age she retired, so it was good to get that answer and realize she was about a year older than I was when she retired for good.
I've been tempted to shred some of my cousin's estate papers early, but I still have a nagging fear that somehow the IRS will come after me. My accountant has scanned copies of everything I would need, but the fear is still there. Actually, you're supposed to keep it 7 years from the year filed, but one pile is going next year for sure.

My accountant told me that in 2020, the IRS received so many tax returns that they tossed many of them; if you owed, you got lucky. His personal return was probably one of them so we eventually had to refile when I never received his refund. Yet when you're just a bit late with paying them, they're onto you immediately and charging you interest.

Trusts: my cousin set one up for my sister's benefit and I was the trustee. She had bankruptcy problems and was an alcoholic and couldn't be trusted with any money. This made it tricky for me, because he didn't want her to know how much money was in it, or to receive it and waste it. She was on disability and had her cancer treatment covered by the state, so most of her expenses were covered. However, my cousin knew about her debts and stated that the money was not for paying those off. It was tricky for me, not letting her know when the money was available, the amount, etc. For anyone who sets up a trust, be very specific when and why the funds get released, especially if more than one beneficiary is involved. I was lucky that it was only me and her, but money can make people ugly really fast.