Time to feed the machine out of left field whammy

[Gary Allan]

I got a notice in the mail last week. The state says I owe $12k inheritance tax with a $5k penalty and they just put a lien on the house

We call down to the register of wills and they say that that's what the state says that I owe since the house was part of my mother's estate.

I've always been on the deed. From the day it was purchased in 1978. When my father died ..we never took his name off. In 1993 my mother took her name off the deed. She died in 2000.

When I called the revenue dept I told them that I've owned it solely since 1993. He then asked "but did she still live there?" . when I said "yes" he said "then you still owe the tax".

Now whether this is true or not, they assessed the whole property in figuring the tax ..as though I never had any interest in it before she took her name off the deed.

Now I'm never going to be able to navigate this without professional legal help ..


One good deal after another.


My mother died with all of about $2300 in total assets. It was enough for cremation ..a bronze marker like my dad's and a memorial service at her church in MA. I got the last mortgage on it in 1997 and I've been on every mortgage since it was bought.

Go figure

 

[OVERKILL]

See Gary, the Government has discovered that they need to claw back the money that they've borrowed from China.... And the source of that money rests squarely on your shoulders sir. You are helping finance the 700 Billion that Wall Street got as well! Feel happy, they are trying to force you to contribute

 

[Shannow]

Got to keep casting the net ever wider...There will be some easy fish who simply accept that they are caught without fight.

 

[tdi-rick]

Yep, time for real legal advice....unfortunately.

 

[oilyriser]

I predict a future change in Gary's political leaning.

 

[tdi-rick]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
I predict a future change in Gary's political leaning.


But is it the State or Feds giving him the hurry up ??

 

[kingrob]

It's the state. The same state that... oh screw it. If you've ever lived in PA you can fill in the blank here ____________________.

 

[Pablo]

The chickens have come home to roost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mrsilv04]

Of course, it is too late now.... but I'm wondering if a family trust had been established, would one have avoided all of this mess?

 

[Cutehumor]

you got to get a lawyer. they are saying if you don't fork up the $17k, they can take your house.

 

[Steelhead]

a tax lien can also restrict access to credit.
can kick in as automatic higher card interest rates.
refusal on business and personal loans.
can affect terms of any mortgage on the property or its use as collateral

probate estate attorney time

 

[Steve S]

Plus isn't it now patriotic to pay more taxes?

 

[duaneb9729]

i am very sorry this happened to you Gary, their is a statute of limitations that should apply to this transaction, a good estate attorney is in order for this.

i suspect that for the cost of a very good attorney you will get past this issue.

 

[Gary Allan]

The thing is ..our attorney that handles such matters for us did the deed changes. There are apparently lots of ways you can own property. "Tenants in common" is one term and (paraphrased) just a group of people that own something all together.

This deed change was never for tax avoidance.


I've never had a good opinion of buerocracies or non-profit organizations. They get a life of their own that ends up having little to do with serving the people their supposed to and serve themselves or the institution.

 

[rg200amp]

I am very sorry to there that Gary.

Keep us updated. Why in the world you need to pay the tax, when its been your house for years?

Your mother was guest in your house when it was signed to you.

 

[javacontour]

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but several things could be at play here, and likely you'll owe something either way.

If there was a homestead exemption that lowered the taxes, and one of the owners didn't live there, does that negate the exemption, so they would want the back taxes.

Ditto for tax breaks for Senior Citizens. If you were one of the owners, does that negate that tax break?

I agree with others, a lawyer is likely needed. However, I expect that there is some legitimate aspect to this. Even if not an inheritance tax, it wouldn't shock me if there was some tax or back tax due.

 

[Gary Allan]

I think what they're looking at it like is as though she was the only one living there and the house was "given" to me to avoid such things ..like I had another living arrangement. It's a 3 unit rental where we ALL occupied the main dwelling (2 units). In reality she occupied one apartment and my children, as they grew, were HER guests.

 

[crinkles]

over here, with cars and houses, you have to pay a % stamp duty on a sale, or transfer of ownership, and the % is worked on the market value, nevermind anything else. So if my hypothetical mother sold me her $2m farm for 50 cents, I'd have to pay X% of $2m in stamp duty to the NSW state government.

 

[Gary Allan]

When she removed her name ..there was a $1 transfer tax. There was nothing when my father "just died" ..which is why I'm wondering where this came from. That is, all three of us on the deed ...dad died ..no one cared about this or that. Mom removes her name ..I pay a $1 tax between mother and son ..and now WHEN she dies ..I pay a tax for an alleged inheritance that I received 7 years earlier of something that I already owned ..at least in part.

 

[mrsilv04]

Gary -

Get a pit bull of a lawyer. When I have to shell out the money for a lawyer, I find the meanest s_b in town.

I had a guy jerking me around once (and after one round with my lawyer... he only did it ONCE.) My lawyer said, let's send him a 'cease and desist' letter. After I told my lawyer what this jerk was doing to me (this guy worked for the Post Office, no less), my lawyer said "No, this guy needs a copy of my "cease, desist, and shut the h_ll up" letter.

After one letter, I haven't heard another peep out of that nutcase.

Guess which lawyer I'll use when I need one the next time?