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oneliner · Joined: 18 Dec 2009 Posts: 2 1.79 Dollars($)

My grandfather left a life estate to his wife (not my biological grandmother) in his will, and after she dies the property goes to his right heir; my mother. However, his wife did a quitclaim deed signing the property to my mother. We did not know much about the law and assumed we had full control over it, including the right to sell it, as my mother has been paying taxes on it ever since. We live in New York and the property is in Florida. It is also in a retirement community, so you must be 55 to live there (my mother is younger than the required age). Now we find out she can't sell it and she's been paying taxes for a property that we can't even make use of, and for a property my mother is going to receive anyway upon the wife's death. Do we still have to pay the taxes, despite the fact that we neither want the property nor use it (nor CAN use it)? If so, what can we do to stop paying for it?

gmakerley · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:10 pm Post subject:

boy this is a convoluted situation and a confusing post. first of all, you can stop paying for something at any time, but then that something reverts back to the the taxation authority in this case, for nonpayment of taxes. why you'd want to do that when it could eventually be a worthwhile property to retain is baffling.

why can't she sell it - due to the life use of your grandfather's wife? she'd have to agree to a sale, of course, but have you broached the subject? how old is your mom? does she have a 55th birthday coming up some day in the future? one would think so. but of course if she doesn't want to live in florida, that's understandable.

but why you can't sell is confusing, and why you'd simly want to let it go is puzzling to me.

oneliner · Joined: 18 Dec 2009 Posts: 2 1.79 Dollars($)

Thank you for the speedy response.
First, I'd like to say that money is fairly tight around here and we'd rather not sell the property and split it with my grandfather's wife instead of waiting for her death to sell it. And no, she doesn't want to live in Florida.

Second, we wouldn't be giving it up. My mother will get the property after her death, as stated by my grandfather's will. This isn't due to the quitclaim that she signed after, at least not to the best of my knowledge. So are you saying that his will doesn't automatically give us the property when she dies? Because his will never said anything about a quitclaim deed.

smithsussane · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject:

Hi oneliner!

Welcome to forums!

The wife has already signed a quit claim deed and transferred the property to your mother. Thus, she is now the owner of the property. In this case the quit claim deed will be more importance than the will because the deed will come into effect during the lifetime of the grantor.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane

gmakerley · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:45 pm Post subject:

my spelling is getting atrocious - "simly" is actually "simply."

okay..now that i've critiqued my own post...i don't remember making any comments about the will and the caveats therein that show your mom as beneficiary.

as for the taxes, if they don't get paid, the taxing county or town (whichever) is going to seek to take back the property for non-payment. not paying, therefore, is a terrible strategy if you're considering that, which it appeared was the case. if taxes don't get paid and the taxing authority seizes the property, that'll eliminate your grandfather's wishes being fulfilled.

i guess i didn't really address your final question, which was how to stop making the payments. if your step-grandma is willing and able to pay these taxes, then that would be the solution, i suppose; or perhaps, that could be a split - each pay half or something.

it just seemed to me that you were looking for a strategy to shrug off the property completely, which is an option, of course; but as you said, it's not a very favorable one.

i may be reading between the lines too much here, but it seems that there's a contentious situation between your step-grandma and the two of you. wouldn't it be nice to just get along?

Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 12:57 am Post subject:

It's a long story. For one thing, she's horrible. My family is 99% sure was poisoning my grandfather (her fourth husband). Getting along is not an option.
And I'm not suggesting we try tax fraud or something. I simply want that woman to pay the taxes for her own property, rather than giving it to us. I thought we would get it anyway and if we do, we'd rather not own it and pay taxes on it until that time comes. But why she can just quitclaim it to us and have us pay for it while we can't sell it without sharing the profit is ridiculous. Since we aren't using it and don't want to use and can't use it if we wanted, I don't understand how the taxes can fall to us. I'm not saying we shouldn't pay taxes for the property at all. I simply want to not have to. I think it's her responsibility and she's trying to shrug it off on us. Killing my grandfather and taking money and property that should've gone to us wasn't enough, apparently.

gmakerley · Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 8:13 pm Post subject:

terrible, terrible situation to be in, obviously. and it doesn't matter, unfortunately, whether she was guilty of poisoning him or not, because you believe she did, so she's guilty in your eyes. that's just too bad.

i didn't think you were trying to commit any fraud, and i understand your stance of wanting her to pay the taxes. at the same time, i don't see an easy way out of this situation at all.

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:19 am Post subject:

Thanks anyway. I guess we'll just wait for her to die so we can sell the place while singing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:19 am Post subject:

Thanks anyway. I guess we'll just wait for her to die so we can sell the place while singing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:21 am Post subject:

Thanks anyway. I guess we'll just wait for her to die so we can sell the place while singing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

gmakerley · Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject:

what a lovely sentiment.

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Does my family have to pay taxes on this property? If so, wh