What is the name of your state? California.
This is a real touchy subject because it deals with family loyalty, inheritance and the tax man.
My father and mother's estate is composed of real estate (six houses, an undeveloped lot, and a strip mall), stocks (about $25k), and some cash (I'm guessing about $70K or $80k). The estate's value is about $10 million, I guess, and as you can see, it's not exactly liquid assets.
The estate is in a revokeable A/B trust right now, and my father and mother are still alive.
I'm kinda the responsible one of their two children. I work, keep records and pay my taxes.
My brother, on the other hand, is a bit of a twit. He is a contractor who gets paid by cash private people for fixing decks and redoing kitchens, but he doesn't exactly make any effort not to leave a paper trail. He has not filed taxes in about a decade and pretty much thinks he's bulletproof.
My question is: How likely is my brother to rise to the IRS's attention when my parents die and the estate is distributed? If my brother and I have a 50/50 split on the houses and other non-cash assets and my brother gets nailed by the IRS, can the IRS force the sale of assets that he only owns half of?
In how much peril is the estate if my brother remains a beneficiary?
And, I guess most importantly, is there anything I can do to protect the estate and myself?
... and disinheriting him is not an option. My parents won't do that for any reason ever. Bless their hearts, but they are loyal.
This is a real touchy subject because it deals with family loyalty, inheritance and the tax man.
My father and mother's estate is composed of real estate (six houses, an undeveloped lot, and a strip mall), stocks (about $25k), and some cash (I'm guessing about $70K or $80k). The estate's value is about $10 million, I guess, and as you can see, it's not exactly liquid assets.
The estate is in a revokeable A/B trust right now, and my father and mother are still alive.
I'm kinda the responsible one of their two children. I work, keep records and pay my taxes.
My brother, on the other hand, is a bit of a twit. He is a contractor who gets paid by cash private people for fixing decks and redoing kitchens, but he doesn't exactly make any effort not to leave a paper trail. He has not filed taxes in about a decade and pretty much thinks he's bulletproof.
My question is: How likely is my brother to rise to the IRS's attention when my parents die and the estate is distributed? If my brother and I have a 50/50 split on the houses and other non-cash assets and my brother gets nailed by the IRS, can the IRS force the sale of assets that he only owns half of?
In how much peril is the estate if my brother remains a beneficiary?
And, I guess most importantly, is there anything I can do to protect the estate and myself?
... and disinheriting him is not an option. My parents won't do that for any reason ever. Bless their hearts, but they are loyal.