When someone passes away, the person named executor of the estate has some responsibilities.  See this article by Bill Bischoff in MarketWatch from The Wall Street Journal for more details:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dying-doesnt-make-the-taxman-go-away-2014-08-19

If there is a trust involved, the trustee has similar responsibilities to an executor, except a trust income tax return is filed instead of an estate income tax return.  In either case, make sure all required returns are filed.

 For financial,  accounting and tax musings,