If you are an attorney, a CPA or EA, you can ask her to sign a Form 2848 that makes you her representative for the 1040 for that tax year. Fax that into the correct number. Then call Practitioner Services - they will probably have you fax the 2848 directly to the person you are speaking with before they can provide you with info. Once they can speak to you they should be able to tell if the return has been received and what its current status is. You will have to find the number for Practitioner Services  on the IRS website yourself and download the 2848 with its instructions. This process will take a lot of your time as hold times are long. I hope you are fairly compensated for it.