Unfiled Tax question

I would google "tax attorney" for you, but I don't want to be held responsible for the search results

Do you have an attorney assisting with probate for the estate? He should have informed you about fiduciary and transferee tax liability for decedent's estates. I recommend you consult with a tax attorney (you might need more help with the probate issues than CPAs can reasonably provide) who has experience dealing with estates and unfiled tax return issues. You want to get returns filed for all years possible, and you want to get it done as quickly as possible. Filing returns can seriously reduce the amounts that the IRS is trying to collect.

The estate is not going to get out of this cheaply. The professional fees will be worth it though.

You likely won't have to file more than about 7 returns. There is no point to filing returns for years in which there was an overpayment, and the statute for getting a refund has expired. You need to file for each of the years the IRS determined there is tax owed in order to minimize the amount of tax, and you need to file returns for all years with overpayments eligible for refunds in order to get as much of the estate's money back as possible.

As of right now, life insurance and 401k didn't go into the estate therefore the IRS cannot though those, is this correct? Since the vehicles and such had no beneficiary they go to the estate, which the IRS CAN touch. If my understanding is correct and the possessions are only worth approx 50k do you think it would be worth it to try and resolve this issue or should we chance it? My relative was not married btw.

Any recommendations on tax attorneys around BR? Thanks again

What happens to the retirement and life insurance monies depends on how the beneficiary was titled.

The decision on whether or not to try to go before the IRS is not one that I or anyone else competent can make without a full review of the facts. Part of that decision is what enforcement action the IRS has taken to date, if any.

I don't have any tax attorneys I've worked with enough in BR to offer a rec, I'll defer to Poodlebrain on that one if he's still listening. If you are willing to work with a New Orleans attorney, I have a couple I can recommend to you.