It was a personal loan that the widow wasn't aware of until after her husbands death. There were a few instances of this. 

I'm not exactly sure of the details, but I believe the estate attorney tried to get the debt discharged, but the bank refused at first and then filed suit. Only this year - after years of back and forth on this - did the bank agree to discharge the debt. 

We were going to close out the estate last year but decided to keep it open and close it out this year. 

I guess the good thing here is that the 1099-C was made out in the decedent's name only. It's not even made out to the estate. Part of thinks to just file it away and see what happens. The estate is insolvent anyway so there's nothing for the state or IRS to take.