Why does the executor need the beneficiary's SIN?

If you're a beneficiary, has the executor asked you for your social insurance number? A number of beneficiaries have asked me over the years about why an executor would want that information. Most seem to find it very alarming. I recently received a note from a reader on this topic:

"My mother passed away 9 months ago. Shortly after, my stepfather who was happily married to m mom asked us for our SIN numbers. He said he needed them for her taxes etc. Something doesn't seem right...why would he need our SIN numbers?"

Most likely the reason he wants your SIN numbers is that the estate has earned income over the last 9 months and he wants to allocate it to the beneficiaries. Doing this will allow him to wrap up the estate more quickly. The SIN numbers are needed for the T slips. There is nothing suspicious or wrong about this process.

Normally I don't start a whole new post just to give a brief answer to a question, However, the question was asked on one of the threads on this blog that has 200 comments or more following my original post. Those that have reached 200 comments have a warning in RED that says if you post on that thread, I can't see or respond to your comment. That appears to be the limit of the system, as it's not my rule. Nevertheless, people post there anyway, and no doubt are annoyed that their questions have gone unanswered. I was able to retrieve this question from my inbox (which only shows the first two lines) because it's brief. At least, I think it's brief. If there is more to it, I can't see it! Please, please, please do not post questions on the threads that have RED warnings, because your question will not be answered.