Schedule C of deceased: living or estate?

Good morning to all,

Today we are working on the 401(k) plan of a sole proprietor who passed away in 2018.  When the CPA sent the Schedule C, she made the comment that this is the Schedule C of the owner while she was alive, and that if I needed the Schedule C that is being filed with the estate, let her know and she will provide me with a copy.

I wouldn't have even known that these are two different things, if the CPA hadn't brought it up, and while my first inclination tells me that the Schedule C while the owner was alive is the one I need, I don't know that for a fact.

Does anyone else have any experience with this?  Which of the two should I be using for 2018?

Thanks in advance, as always.

I'd ask to see the Schedule SE's. 

Thanks for the reply, Mike.  I wouldn't have known to ask for that either.

Mike, I have now asked for the other Schedule C, the one they will use for the estate reporting, and for the Schedule SEs.  I looked up the SE to see what it is all about, and now I am wondering if we have been using the wrong number for this client's income all along.  My predecessor, left notes indicating that he had always used Line 31, Net Profit (or Loss) from Schedule C for this sole proprietor's income for plan purposes.  

It is looking to me like the Schedule C is just an element of her income that gets impacted by other things on other forms like the SE and the 1040.  What number, from what form, is the actual compensation of a sole proprietor for plan purposes?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

You need to search this forum for a copy of Larry Starr's outline of this topic. In the case of a sole prop I usually start with the SE. But the doc might call for other adjustments. It can get complicated.