Category Archives: Death

My Remarkable Dad Phillip Eugene Fox

Posted in Death, Dad, Family by

Phillip Eugene Fox was born in Indiana on 2/8/1932 and adopted 6 days later, on Valentine’s Day by Eugene and Isabell Fox. He celebrated his birthday on Valentine’s Day all his life. Our beloved Dad died, peacefully, on Valentine’s Day at the age of 94 surrounded by family and love.

“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, so just give me a happy middle and a very happy start.” ~ Shel Silverstein

A Very Happy Start

Dad/Phil grew up in Sturgis MI during WWII; he was 7yo when it started and 13 when it ended. Dad was a Jr. Air Raid Cadet and told to report any suspicious activity. He hung airplanes from his ceiling, played hide/seek in a cemetery, and stood on a winter storm shutter to paddle around the lake. He was very proud of his Chris-Craft boat. When Dad was 12yo, his mother adopted another newborn; his sisters name is Toni.

Dad/Phil loved music; he grew up with it. In his mother’s eulogy, he wrote: My mother was an accomplished pianist who played classical music, especially Chopin; Dad also played piano. In high school he played the cornet in a band that wore top hats when they performed. His 1st job was in a grocery store where he made a lot of potato salad/baked beans. Amazingly, he had 3 cars in high school. His 1st was a Ford Model A – hand crank in the front to start the car. The 2nd was a Dodge that had wooden spokes and pull-down shades. The 3rd was a Buick Roadmaster.

Education and Career

After high school, Dad attended the General Motors Institute. After 3 years of school, Dad began his career in Utah where he measured remaining insulation in a fired missile. His assignment was to determine the minimum amount needed. Determining the minimum amount of insulation was critical for maximizing payload.  The first ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) began in 1951 with Project Atlas. Titan missiles came next. In 1962, The Minuteman missile development began, as a replacement to the Titan missile. Dad worked on two of the 1st three phases.

In October 1978, Dad began work for Martin Marietta in Santa Maria CA and retired at age 78. Young engineers loved to work with him because of his long-varied experience. When he started, work was done manually. Later, when computers became popular, many of his peers retired. Dad learned something new and excelled on. In 4/87 he was awarded the Directors Award for the Space Shuttle Program Vandenburg. At that time, he was the Chief of Engineering Support at work. Dad was transferred to Florida about a year after the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on 1/28/86 because the possibility of a west coast Cape Canaveral was scrapped.

Married Life and Becoming a Dad to the D’s

Dad/Phil became a Catholic to marry our mom, Marjorie Swales. Initially they lived in Clio MI and had 2 girls Debbie and Denise before moving for work to Utah then Rancho Cordova, CA where girl #3 Dawn was born. The baby, David, was born after we moved to our long-term family home in beautiful Los Gatos, CA.

We had a great family life for many years. Mom worked at home caring for us and Dad. We had family dinners every night and attended St. Francis Cabrini as a family We swam in our doughboy pool; we loved it when Dad pretended to be a whale and gave us rides on his back. We played badminton, bumper pool and enjoyed many family trips to play at the beach, in the snow, and on the American river while camping with family friends, the Schneiders, in Placerville. Carl and Rachel Schneider were our parents, Phil/Margie’s best friends and lived across the street from us when we lived in Rancho Cordova. Sometimes, one of the Schneider girls would babysit all the kids at our house, while the adults had fun across the street. My dad played piano and Carl Schneider played the “stomp fiddle.”

We took trips in our station wagon drove from CA to FL. Two adults and 4 kids “comfortably” riding in a station wagon coast to coast. We ate breakfast/lunch at roadside rest stops and enjoyed little boxes of Kellog’s cereal/sandwiches. We went to Michigan to visit my mom’s Swales family. Once, when my dad’s parents visited, he took us to Haight-Ashbury to see the hippies in San Francisco. Eventually, life hit some bumps and our parents divorced.

A Very Happy Middle

Later, Dad became an Episcopalian and married Angie in September 1976. Angie had 2 kids, Eddie and Jamie. Both parents got bonus kids and all the kids, got bonus siblings.

Dad/Angie loved the San Francisco 49ers and held season tickets for decades. Their social life circled around their St. Richards Episcopal church family. They loved to entertain and excelled at it. In 2004, they became Godparents to Aidan McConnell. Aidan is 22 and is graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Oviedo was home for almost 40 (39) years: 1987-2026

Dad and Angie enjoyed living next door to the Bruno (David/Lucy) family. After Angie died, Lucy enjoyed bringing home cooked meals to dad. She is/was the prayer warrior next door who rounded up her troops and invited a group to pray for both Dad and Angie over the years.

When asked for advice about living a long life, dad would tell us eat well, get plenty of rest, don’t worry about anything, and laugh a lot. Dad was a reader and had Dale Carnegies book, ‘How to Stop Worrying and Start Living’, published in 1948. Perhaps he adopted his don’t worry philosophy way back then and then modeled it throughout his life: Don’t worry about things you can’t control.

Dad is a great active listener, has a beautiful ability to stay present to be in the moment, and to live/enjoy fully. His kids inherited his and their mom’s quick wit, humor and their sense of play to have or create fun.

“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part.”

In 1998, Dad gave his mother’s eulogy at St. Richards.

Our Fox family had a lot of family deaths between 2019-2023. With the exception of Angie, all were unexpected. The last 3 were all in the Orlando area by dad.

  • 6/11/2019 Angie died
  • 12/4/2019 Roxanne Sullivan, David’s MIL and Jimmy’s mom died
  • 8/31/2020 Jason Fox, Phil’s 1st grandchild, died
  • 7/11/2021 Eddie Loeffler, Angie’s son died
  • 12/11/2022, Stan Berry, Eddie’s life partner died
  • 10/2023 Kevin, Stan’s brother, was shot/died – road rage

The Remarkable Resilient Phil Fox

In August 2024, dad had a couple of injuring falls which surprised us because he was historically strong and steady on his feet. The 1st fall was on the sidewalk walking home from the mailbox and he injured his face/nose. The 2nd was 10 days later when he turned wrong and fell on his side hitting a wooden chair. He found Angie’s walker, walked to the other side of the house, and casually said, “Hey Debbie I fell”. The fall resulted in 3 broken ribs, his 1st rehab, and the beginning use of a walker. I am intentionally sharing detail because it so illustrates who our dad is. Father Tom Downs recently described him as “The King of Calm”, a term I love because it is so accurately true.

Dad had a remarkably healthy life for 93+ years. A series of falls began on 9/8/25; the life changing fall on 11/3/25 resulted in a fractured neck and a subdural hematoma. He lost his mobility. “They say” you cannot control the falls. “They” are right, even in the best of facilities – it happens and it did. God decides when to call us home and he did in a Serendipitous way because Dad’s traditional birthday celebration and his death date occurred on the same day -Valentine’s Day.

While playful, Dad was also thoughtful and could be a man of few words with great meaning. Following a closed head injury from a fall on 9/8/25, our beautiful dad said, “There is nothing urgent in the house and nothing urgent in him.”  The way that he thinks and the way that he speaks clearly shows how strong his cognitive skills were at age 93.

Dad enjoyed special trips with his kids

2019: Thanksgiving in MI with Dawn/Craig and then to Houston in December for a 4-day birthday fun for Debbie/Jason

2020: San Diego for Roxanne’s COL and to see Denise’s family

2022: NYC with David/Jimmy and Italy- Milan, Lake Como, Rome, Vatican – with David, Jimmy, Denise, Dawn, and Craig

2023: MI July 2023 Dad/Dawn both got COVID- plans disrupted- missed Big Swales family party and went again September 2023

2024: MI Sturgis MI to see his family home with Dawn/Craig

Multiple trips to Hudson, Tarpon Springs, and Dunedin FL to see Hank/Martie, Leah/Gabe and family

2025: Hudson FL to visit family (see above) April 2025. This was dad’s last trip which is ironic because Angie’s last trip was also to Hudson Florida on Veterans Day 2018 to see the same family. Martie is Dad’s SIL (Margie’s baby sister)

Gratitude

Although we are sad Dad is no longer here, we are grateful because of the length/depth of life God gave to our dad and to each of us. We all have an expiration date, Dad’s expiration date was later than Jason’s, Eddie’s, Stan’’s and Angie’s. Life is a Gift.

Cesare Pavese, said We do not remember days, we remember moments.We are blessed and grateful for decades of cherished memories and have hearts full of love. We hope you have memories to cherish and carry some of Phil’s love and stories with you.

Celebration of Life

We will honor Dad with a Celebration of Life at 11 AM on Saturday March 14th, 2026, at St. Richards Episcopal in Winter Park, FL. A lunch reception will follow.

Dad’s 4 D’’s are: Deborah Fox of Austin TX, Denise Fox of Alpine CA, Dawn Brooks (Craig) of Mt. Morris, MI, and David Fox (Jimmy) of NYC, NY

2 Bonus Children: Edward Loeffler (Stan) of Winter Park, FL – deceased, and Jamie Loeffler of Citrus Heights, CA

5 Grandchildren:  Jason Fox of Houston, TX – deceased, Armondo Luna (Kashi) of San Diego, CA, Ali Salazar (Doug) of Lakeside, CA, Kevin Fox (Jessi) of Burton, MI, and Katie Hart (Jacob) of Alma, MI

5 Great Grandchildren Avery 17, Alivia 16, Brooklynn 13, Ryder 10, Evelyn 8, Nora 6

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Toni, his first wife Marjorie, and his second wife Angie. Phil was also preceded in death by Jason Fox; Eddie Loeffler; and by Stan Berry.

Death and Taxes

Posted in Death, IRS, Personal Finance, Tax, Tax Filing, taxes by

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Life is like a day. Sunrise, Sunset. A lot of us anticipate that we will die, later in life and if we are “fortunate”, life will give us notice before we do.

Unfortunately, we know, objectively, that is not always true. We all know someone that left us too early. I have had that happen 3 times, just since 6/7/18.

“Life is a movie. Death is a photograph” – Susan Sontag

When someone we love dies, our natural emotional response is grief. Taxes are the furthest thing from our mind-, and, as they should be. This is true for me and for many others that I know or have helped over the years. It is probably true for you, too.

Life dictates change, and even though we do not like it, sometimes our priorities need to change as well. There are things we must take care of, some of which can be time sensitive.

This blog was written to help others learn a little about death and taxes. In my experience, people are often very surprised (or shocked) to learn that tax returns may be required when someone dies. This blog is written in general terms because for many, state rules also apply. Ask your experienced Tax Professional for guidance, as needed.

There are three (3) possible IRS tax returns that may need to be filed after a death:

  1. The Final 1040
  2. Form 1041
  3. Form 706

 

  1. The IRS Final 1040 (Individual Income Tax Return)
  • Income received prior to and including death is reported on the decedent’s Final 1040 tax return
  • Upon death of the taxpayer a new entity, the estate, is created
  • A revocable trust becomes irrevocable upon the grantor’s death. From that point on, do not report income on the grantor’s individual income tax return, use Form 1041
  • The due date remains April 15 for calendar-year taxpayers
  • Your first step, prior to starting the final Form 1040, is to determine who is responsible to file and sign the return
  • If appointed, the representative files Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship with the IRS
  • The person filing the return should write “DECEASED,” the decedent’s name and the date of death across the top of Page 1 of the tax return. Mail the form to the IRS Service Center for the area in which the person signing the return lives.

 

  1. Form 1041: Estate Income Tax Return
  • Income received after death is reported on IRS Form 1041
  • Notice that Form 1041 and Form 706 both use the word “estate” – learn to distinguish between the two (2) Forms; Form 1041 is for income (like the 1040)
  • An estate is comprised of all assets owned at the time of death, whether they are distributable through the probate process or an alternate way
  • The decedent and their estate are separate taxable entities; obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for their estate or trust from the IRS website
  • The fiduciary of a domestic decedent’s estate, trust, or bankruptcy estate files Form 1041 to report:
  1. The income, deductions, gains, losses, etc. of the estate or trust
  2. The income that is either accumulated or held for future distribution or distributed currently to the beneficiaries
  3. Any income tax liability of the estate or trust
  4. Employment taxes on wages paid to household employees

 

Who Must File Form 1041:

Domestic Estate that has:  Gross income for the tax year of

  • $600 or more, or
  • A beneficiary who is a non-resident alien

 Domestic Trust  that has:

  • Any taxable income for the tax year
  • Gross income of $600 or more
  • A beneficiary who is a non-resident alien

 

Decedents Estates have an Exemption, but do not have a Standard Deduction.

Exemption:

  • Decedents’ Estate : A decedent’s estate is allowed a $600 exemption
  • Trusts required to distribute all income currently. A trust whose governing instrument requires that all income be distributed currently is allowed a $300 exemption, even if it distributed amounts other than income during the tax year

 

Form 1041 – Due Date

  • Form 1041 is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the estate’s tax year. For taxpayers choosing a calendar year, the due date is April 15
  • If you are preparing Form 706, you should prepare Form 706 at the same time as Form 1041 to determine where to report certain deductions

 

Tax

  • Like IRS Form 1040, the Estate Income tax rate for Form 1041 is progressive, but the rates rise very quickly. For example, the 2017 rate is 39.6% for income of $12,500 or more
  • The 2018 tax rate, inclusive of tax reform, is 37% for income of $12,500 or more

 

Important Form 1041 Takeaways:

Earlier in this post, I highlighted the following fragment in bold, any income tax liability of the estate or trust, and now, I will explain why I did this.

Uncle Sam, generally, may need to be paid before money is distributed to heirs. I am not providing you specific tax advice, nor am I providing you legal advice. However, I am sharing what I have learned via education and experience because this is something that a lot of people do not know and mistakes can be painfully expensive.

Cancelled debt, can trigger taxable income, which can result in an expensive IRS tax bill.

For example, one client received a 1099-C for student debt that was cancelled after the death of a family member. This triggered a large tax bill because of information shared earlier; i.e. a $600 exemption and a 39.6% tax rate. Exceptions, such as bankruptcy or insolvency, were not options.

Fortunately, recent tax reform changed this rule effective January 1, 2018:

Discharged of Student Loan Indebtedness

“The exclusion from income resulting from the discharge of student loan debt is expanded to include discharges resulting from death or disability of the student.”

A 1099-C may be issued for other forgiven deceased debt, such as credit card debt. Be prudent, and know your federal and applicable state rules before distributing assets to heirs. Your attorney may be a good resource to help guide you through this process.

 

3.  Form 706: Estate Tax Return

This form is used to report the transfer of assets from a decedent at the time of death.

The government imposes federal estate tax on the decedent’s entire estate. It is an excise tax on the right to pass property at death.

The Gross Estate includes the total value of the decedent’s interest in all property owned as of the date of death which can transferred due to the will or law. The form includes a number of schedules on which the estate lists the various assets or includes the expenses.

The theory behind the transfer tax system is to tax the value bequeathed to heirs. Since certain debts need to be paid and funeral expenses are customary, these amounts never become part of the inheritance. Because of this, the estate accounts for expenditures and debts in addition to assets.

Form 706 is due exactly nine (9) months after the date of death, unless the IRS has granted an automatic six (6) month extension of time.

For decedents who died in 2017, the executor of the Estate of every U.S. citizen or resident, files Form 706 for those:

  • Whose Gross Estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts and specific exemption is more than $5,490,000; or,
  • Whose executor elects to transfer the DSUE (Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion) amount to the surviving spouse, regardless of the size of the decedent’s gross estate

Recent Tax Reform, the #TCJA, doubled the Estate Tax and Gift Tax Exemption, for estates of decedents dying and gifts made after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. The exemption increased to $11,180,000 for 2018.

 

Non-Resident Filing Requirements

Use Form 706-NA, to compute estate and generation- skipping transfer tax liability for nonresident alien decedents. If an individual who is a nonresident alien has a gross estate of property located in the United States in excess of $60,000, an estate return is required.

 

In closing, Ben Franklin is often credited for saying: “Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me & I may remember. Involve me & I learn.”  I write because it is one more way I can help others from getting hurt financially.

I hope this blog helped you learn a little  about death and taxes. The information provided was written to provide a broad perspective; individual facts and circumstances need to be reviewed to determine what, if any, tax returns may apply for you (or for those that you love).

If I can answer questions or help you, please let me know.

 

Thanks for reading,

Deb

Deborah Ann Fox, CPA helps Small Business Owners & Individuals build and protect their financial wealth though education, strategy, and proactive tax planning. Deb thinks this is the fun part of tax because it makes a financial difference for her clients, their business, and their families.

She offers free 30 minute no obligation consultations. We can discuss/resolve via a mix of e-mail, phone, virtual, and in-person communications.

https://www.DeborahFoxCPA.com

Call 619-549-2717

E-Mail me @ debfoxfinancial@gmail.com 

Twitter: @debfoxfinancial

Facebook: Deborah Ann Fox, CPA

The blog is provided as general information only and should not be considered a substitute for specific advice and services of a Certified Public Accountant, Enrolled Agent, or an Attorney