post death time limitation for invoicing?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My mother passed away in July 07 and her house was sold the same month. I am a co-trustee of the estate (along with a brother). We received a bill from the county for a property tax assessment on that house over a year later (roughly for $200). Is there a statute of limitation for such a bill? The estate has already been closed and there are no funds, other than our own pockets, to pay this bill.

thanks in advance

tomnisa

You have to pay the taxes.

No way around it.

tomnisa said:

Is there a statute of limitation for such a bill?

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Yes. It is the "LATER of (a) four months after the date letters (authority to act for the estate) were first issued to the personal representative, or (b) sixty days after the date the Notice of Administration was given to the creditor, if notice was given as provided in Probate Code section 9051."

When did you send out the letters to the tax authority advising them of the death??

You should also read 'Notifying Creditors and Dealing With Creditor Claims' at the following:
California Probate Information and Laws | Methven and Associates, the Business Law Counselors

thanks for the info

I appreciate the quick reply.

We did send out letters to the tax authorities and I will dig them out and re-send to this specific authority.



tomnisa

tomnisa said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My mother passed away in July 07 and her house was sold the same month. I am a co-trustee of the estate (along with a brother). We received a bill from the county for a property tax assessment on that house over a year later (roughly for $200). Is there a statute of limitation for such a bill? The estate has already been closed and there are no funds, other than our own pockets, to pay this bill.

thanks in advance

tomnisa

Click to expand...

I suspect the taxing authority will tell you that the tax is on the land and not a person.

Thus, the probate estate is irrelevant.

Usually the taxes are prorated through escrow, unless this bill is for a Prop 13 reappraisal. Who is the beneficiary under the trust?

Sent trust to tax authority

The tax authority told us (the trustees) that they will review the trust documents and then determine if we "qualify" for relief of the taxes.

since the house was sold, what does the closing agent have to say about taxes that were not paid at closing?

along with seniorjudges line of response:

the taxes would be levied against the property, not the owner or estate and as such, the current owner should be billed. That person would be required to pay those taxes but may have recourse against the trust, trustees, estate, or closing agent to be reimbursed for those taxes.

Final Action

I very much appreciate the advice given me on this matter. To close it up, I will lay out the details of what happened.

My brother and I (co-trustees) petitioned to have the tax repealed. Initially, our claim was "denied", stating that the county needed a copy of the trust. We sent the copy and was recently contacted by phone and told that our claim has now been accepted. We will be notified in writing that we do not owe any property taxes relative to the house in question. Unfortunately I do not know why sending a copy of the trust made a difference.

tomnisa