Spouse unable to sign......

[Girard Van De Lay]

the tax return due to a recent stroke. Can the husband sign for her or does he need to get some form of POA. I have never had this sitution so any advise is appriciated.

Girard Van de Lay

[KBTS]

Pub 501

He can sign for her. From Pub 501:

Injury or disease prevents signing.

If your spouse cannot sign because of injury or disease and tells you to sign, you can sign your spouse's name in the proper space on the return followed by the words “By (your name), Husband (or Wife).” Be sure to also sign in the space provided for your signature. Attach a dated statement, signed by you, to the return. The statement should include the form number of the return you are filing, the tax year, the reason your spouse cannot sign, and that your spouse has agreed to your signing for him or her.

[erchess]

Interesting info

However, I have further questions.

Can a spouse following these instructions sign for the return to be efiled or is a POA necessary for that??

What if the spouse is incompetent or perhaps even comatose and cannot tell you to sign for him or her?

[travis bickle]

if you continue reading in pub 501

However, I have further questions.

Can a spouse following these instructions sign for the return to be efiled or is a POA necessary for that??

What if the spouse is incompetent or perhaps even comatose and cannot tell you to sign for him or her?

you will find your answer.

KBTS provided the answer [shown on page 5] where a incapacitated spouse can give assent. The next paragraph on page 5 says that "if you are the guardian of your spouse who is mentally incompetent, you can sign the return for your spouse as guardian"

//comment - the only way for you to NOT be the guardian is if someone else was appointed to be and that person would then obviously have POA for signing purposes, most especially in cases of a person being declared incompetent//

this has been around for years.

and, if you continue to read from page 5 to page 6, you will find the same authority exists when your spouse is in a combat zone -- i.e., you can simply prepare a statement, an actual POA is not required.

last, go ahead and efile while sending in the statement with the 8453 -- it is the exact same as filing with a POA and sending in the POA with the 8453.

[erchess]

Many thanks Travis

but everything you had to say had definitely been solicited.

[Snaggletooth]

What about the 8879?

We have discussed the situation where one spouse is incapacitated.

Now, to discuss a much, much more frequent situation. Client comes to your office and you calculate a fat refund. You offer to electronically file.

So you shove the form 8879 in front of him to sign a joint return. Wife has stayed home to watch the kids and has not accompanied him to office.

How do you handle??

[JG EA]

I make them take with and bring/send/fax back.

[travis bickle]

absolutely

I make them take with and bring/send/fax back.

and he pays for it before he walks out of my office with the 8879

[Bonnie]

[So you shove the form 8879 in front of him to sign a joint return. Wife has stayed home to watch the kids and has not accompanied him to office.

How do you handle??

I tell him to go home and watch the kids while the wife comes to sign. If they take the form home, no one knows if the wife actually signed or if he took it and signed her name or had someone else sign her name for her. Can't be too careful. My policy--No forms leave the office, Have the spouse stop by and sign. A few years back while I was with a big company, a man came in brought a female with him, claiming to be the wife, they filed the return and got the money back. A few weeks later, real wife comes and complaining because she had never signed anything. It became a real mess. So gotta verify who they are as well as have them in your pressence to sign. 2 times in about 4 years, I actually went to the house because of circumstances where the spouse really couldn't make it in. So I went totheir home and took the form and got the signature (just a form of customer service I do), but only in very rare circumstances. I'd rather make a trip to the home, than get in a bind later over a return that the spouse did not sign. Now if it's someone I know very well, I might make an exception, even then, I usually have the other spouse call and let me know it's OK. That way I have at least had a phone verification.

[Gretel]

Send form home with client and I will not e-file before I get paid and have the signed form back.

[Davc]

Get paid. Give client their copy and form. Fling when form is returned signed by both. Keep in mind that the TP and Spouse are stating they've reviewed the return when they sign.