When the IRS examines a fiduciary, it looks at far more than the income reported: the elections, the fees, the distributions, and the documentation behind all of it. These are among the most technically demanding files we open, not because the law is unknowable, but because most trustees, executors, and advisers have no idea how much compliance sits on their shoulders until something breaks.

Clients who come to us after a notice usually followed advice and had professionals involved. The documentation looked fine at the time. Fiduciary compliance is about elections, apportionment logic, entity classification, fee structures, and distribution mechanics, and each one carries its own documentation requirement that fails quietly.