Form 56

(Rev. April 2002) Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship OMB No. 1545-0013

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service (Internal Revenue Code sections 6036 and 6903)

Identification

Name of person for whom you are acting (as shown on the tax return) Identifying number

Address of person for whom you are acting (number, street, and room or suite no.)

City or town, state, and ZIP code (If a foreign address, see instructions.)

Fiduciary’s name

Address of fiduciary (number, street, and room or suite no.)

City or town, state, and ZIP code Telephone number (optional)

Authority

1 Authority for fiduciary relationship. Check applicable box:

a(1) Will and codicils or court order appointing fiduciary (2) Date of death

b(1) Court order appointing fiduciary (2) Date (see instructions)

c Valid trust instrument and amendments

d Other. Describe  

Tax Notices

Send to the fiduciary listed in Part I all notices and other written communications involving the following tax matters:

2 Type of tax (estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer, income, excise, etc.)  

3 Federal tax form number (706, 1040, 1041, 1120, etc.)  

4 Year(s) or period(s) (if estate tax, date of death) 

Revocation or Termination of Notice

Section A—Total Revocation or Termination

Check this box if you are revoking or terminating all prior notices concerning fiduciary relationships on file with the Internal

Revenue Service for the same tax matters and years or periods covered by this notice concerning fiduciary relationship 

5

Reason for termination of fiduciary relationship. Check applicable box:

a Court order revoking fiduciary authority

b Certificate of dissolution or termination of a business entity

c Other. Describe 

Section B—Partial Revocation

Check this box if you are revoking earlier notices concerning fiduciary relationships on file with the Internal Revenue Service for

the same tax matters and years or periods covered by this notice concerning fiduciary relationship 

6a

Specify to whom granted, date, and address, including ZIP code.



b

Section C—Substitute Fiduciary

Check this box if a new fiduciary or fiduciaries have been or will be substituted for the revoking or terminating fiduciary(ies) and

specify the name(s) and address(es), including ZIP code(s), of the new fiduciary(ies) 

7

Court and Administrative Proceedings

Name of court (if other than a court proceeding, identify the type of proceeding and name of agency) Date proceeding initiated

Address of court Docket number of proceeding

City or town, state, and ZIP code Date Time a.m. Place of other proceedings

p.m.

I certify that I have the authority to execute this notice concerning fiduciary relationship on behalf of the taxpayer.

Please

Sign

Here

 Fiduciary’s signature Title, if applicable Date

 Fiduciary’s signature Title, if applicable Date

For Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy Act Notice, see back page. Form 56 (Rev. 4-2002)

Part V

Part IV

Part I

Part II

Part III

( )

Cat. No. 16375I

Decedent’s social security no.
Form 56 (Rev. 4-2002) Page 2

General Instructions

Terminating entities. A terminating entity,

such as a corporation, partnership, trust, etc.,

only has the legal capacity to establish a

fiduciary relationship while it is in existence.

Establishing a fiduciary relationship prior to

termination of the entity allows the fiduciary

to represent the entity on all tax matters after

it is terminated.

Part II—Authority

Line 1a. Check the box on line 1a if the

decedent died testate (i.e., having left a valid

will) and enter the decedent’s date of death.

The time needed to complete and file this

form will vary depending on individual

circumstances. The estimated average time

is:

Definitions

Recordkeeping 8 min.

Fiduciary. A fiduciary is any person acting in

a fiduciary capacity for any other person (or

terminating entity), such as an administrator,

conservator, designee, executor, guardian,

receiver, trustee of a trust, trustee in

bankruptcy, personal representative, person

in possession of property of a decedent’s

estate, or debtor in possession of assets in

any bankruptcy proceeding by order of the

court.

Line 1b. Check the box on line 1b if the

decedent died intestate (i.e., without leaving

a valid will). Also, enter the decedent’s date

of death and write “Date of Death” next to

the date.

Learning about the

law or the form 32 min.

Preparing the form 46 min.

Copying, assembling, and

sending the form to the IRS 15 min.

If you have comments concerning the

accuracy of these time estimates or

suggestions for making this form simpler, we

would be happy to hear from you. You can

write to the Tax Forms Committee, Western

Area Distribution Center, Rancho Cordova,

CA 95743-0001. Do not send Form 56 to this

address. Instead, see When and Where To

File on this page.

Assignment for the benefit of creditors.

Enter the date the assets were assigned to

you and write “Assignment Date” after the

date.

Person. A person is any individual, trust,

estate, partnership, association, company or

corporation.

Proceedings other than bankruptcy.

Enter the date you were appointed or took

possession of the assets of the debtor or

other person whose assets are controlled.

Decedent’s estate. A decedent’s estate is a

taxable entity separate from the decedent

that comes into existence at the time of the

decedent’s death. It generally continues to

exist until the final distribution of the assets

of the estate is made to the heirs and other

beneficiaries.

Part III—Tax Notices

Complete this part if you want the IRS to

send you tax notices regarding the person for

whom you are acting.

Line 2. Specify the type of tax involved. This

line should also identify a transferee tax

liability under section 6901 or fiduciary tax

liability under 31 U.S.C. 3713(b) when either

exists.

Part IV—Revocation or

Termination of Notice

Purpose of Form

When and Where To File

Complete this part only if you are revoking or

terminating a prior notice concerning a

fiduciary relationship. Completing this part will

relieve you of any further duty or liability as a

fiduciary if used as a notice of termination.

Notice of fiduciary relationship. Generally,

you should file Form 56 when you create (or

terminate) a fiduciary relationship. To receive

tax notices upon creation of a fiduciary

relationship, file Form 56 with the Internal

Revenue Service Center where the person for

whom you are acting is required to file tax

returns. If you wish to receive tax notices for

more than one form and one of the forms is

Form 1040, file Form 56 with the Internal

Revenue Service Center where the person for

whom you are acting is required to file Form

1040.

Part V—Court and Administrative

Proceedings

Complete this part only if you have been

appointed a receiver, trustee, or fiduciary by a

court or other governmental unit in a

proceeding other than a bankruptcy

proceeding.

Proceedings (other than bankruptcy) and

assignments for the benefit of creditors. A

fiduciary who is appointed or authorized to

act as:

If proceedings are scheduled for more than

one date, time, or place, attach a separate

schedule of the proceedings.

● A receiver in a receivership proceeding or

similar fiduciary (including a fiduciary in aid of

foreclosure), or

● An assignee for the benefit of creditors,

must file Form 56 on, or within 10 days of,

the date of appointment with the Chief,

Special Procedures Staff, of the area office of

the IRS having jurisdiction over the person for

whom you are acting.

1. A brief description of the assets that

were assigned and

2. An explanation of the action to be taken

regarding such assets, including any

hearings, meetings of creditors, sale, or other

scheduled action.

Who Should File

The fiduciary (see Definitions below) uses

Form 56 to notify the IRS of the creation, or

termination, of a fiduciary relationship under

section 6903. For example, if you are acting

as fiduciary for an individual, a decedent’s

estate, or a trust, you may file Form 56. If

notification is not given to the IRS, notices

sent to the last known address of the taxable

entity, transferee, or other person subject to

tax liability are sufficient to satisfy the

requirements of the Internal Revenue Code.

Signature

Sign Form 56 and enter a title describing your

role as a fiduciary (e.g., assignee, executor,

guardian, trustee, personal representative,

receiver, or conservator).

Specific Instructions

Part I—Identification

Provide all the information called for in this

part.

Assignment for the benefit of creditors.

You must attach the following information:

Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy Act

Notice. We ask for the information on this

form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of

the United States. Form 56 is provided for

your convenience and its use is voluntary.

Under section 6109 you must disclose the

social security number or employer

identification number of the individual or

entity for which you are acting. The principal

purpose of this disclosure is to secure proper

identification of the taxpayer. We also need

this information to gain access to the tax

information in our files and properly respond

to your request. If you do not disclose this

information, we may suspend processing the

notice of fiduciary relationship and not

consider this as proper notification until you

provide the information.

You may use Form 56 to notify the IRS of the

creation or termination of a fiduciary

relationship under section 6903 and to give

notice of qualification under section 6036.

Address. Include the suite, room, or other

unit number after the street address.

If the postal service does not deliver mail to

the street address and the fiduciary (or

person) has a P.O. box, show the box

number instead of the street address.

Section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Receivers and assignees for the benefit of

creditors also file Form 56 to give notice of

qualification under section 6036. However, a

bankruptcy trustee, debtor in possession, or

other like fiduciary in a bankruptcy

proceeding is not required to give notice of

qualification under section 6036. Trustees,

etc., in bankruptcy proceedings are subject to

the notice requirements under title 11 of the

United States Code (Bankruptcy Rules).

The receiver or assignee may also file a

separate Form 56 with the service center

where the person for whom the fiduciary is

acting is required to file tax returns to provide

the notice required by section 6903.

Identifying number. If you are acting for an

individual, an individual debtor, or other

person whose assets are controlled, the

identifying number is the social security

number (SSN). If you are acting for a person

other than an individual, including an estate

or trust, the identifying number is the

employer identification number (EIN).

Decedent’s SSN. If you are acting on behalf

of a decedent, enter the decedent’s SSN

shown on his or her final Form 1040 in the

space provided.

You are not required to provide the

information requested on a form that is

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless the form displays a valid OMB control

number. Books or records relating to a form

or its instructions must be retained as long as

their contents may become material in the

administration of any Internal Revenue law.

Generally, tax returns and return information

are confidential as required by section 6103.

For a foreign address, enter the information

in the following order: city, province or state,

and country. Follow the country’s practice for

entering the postal code. Please do not

abbreviate the country name.

Caution: You must be prepared to furnish

evidence that substantiates your authority to

act as a fiduciary for the person for whom you

are acting.