If the closing attorney incorrectly credited the seller for paying a full year of county taxes and a year has passed, who is responsible for paying the half that really wasn’t paid?
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If the closing attorney incorrectly credited the seller for paying a full year of county taxes and a year has passed, who is responsible for paying the half that really wasn’t paid?
I received a call this week from the closing attorney that closed on a house I sold last year stating that they incorrectly gave me credit for paying the whole year county taxes when I had only paid half. Am I responsible for paying the other half owed or is the attorney who made the error?
Asked on December 22, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Custom and practice in California is that where a formal escrow company incorrectly sets forth the final closing amounts upon distribution at escrow's close to the seller and the buyer, escrow absorbs any miscalculation since escrow is paid to make sure that the calculations are correctly done at close.
Attorneys in California typically do not handle escrows for real estate transactions.
With that being said, from what you have written, it seems that the attorney who incorrectly credited the seller for paying a full year of county taxes when that did not happen should be responsible for coming out of pocket for taking care of the taxes. After all, is not the attorney a professional and was not the attorney paid to make sure the calculations were correctly done at close?
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