Who would be responsible for my deceased fathers tax liability if there’s not enough money in his estate to cover the debt?
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Who would be responsible for my deceased fathers tax liability if there’s not enough money in his estate to cover the debt?
My dad deeded his 80 acre farm/2 br home to his 3 kids in 05. Up to time of death in 08, he pd his taxes on time. In 07 he became ill and added my sister to his acct to help with finances. In a nut shell, the money he had to pay taxes ended up in sister’s personal acct and 07 taxes went unpaid. In 08 I am Admin of his estate. Upon filing his 07 taxes, found he owed $17K. The estate only has $10K. Farm sold after death, funds divided among kids. Land/home were in kids names only, he lived there and pd PPT. was in good health when he deeded farm to kids.
Asked on May 28, 2009 under Estate Planning, Kansas
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
You should (as administrator of the estate) hire a wills and estates lawyer to look at this. One place to look for a qualified attorney is our website, http://attorneypages.com
I'm not a Kansas lawyer, and the law on this subject can vary from state to state. Plus, this is one area where "in a nut shell" isn't nearly enough information to give you an answer. In many states, if a person puts another person's name on their bank account just for the first person's convenience, so the other person can help them make payments, it's not a gift, and if the second person has used the money for her own purposes, sometimes they can be forced to give it back. But on slightly different facts, sometimes, it doesn't work that way.
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