Greetings All,
I decided to join the forum this afternoon in order to get some advice from others.
It's a bit of a long story, so I will do my best to simplify it…
I inherited a large sum of money through the accidental death of a relative. The funds originated sometime in 2000 and increased on a yearly basis with high interest rates. The funds were dispersed to 10 different financial institutions all within reasonable distance from my previous residence. Throughout this process, my funds were overseen by a particular department in a local Courthouse nearby my home. For example, at 14 years old, I couldn't walk into one of my banks [for this example, lets say Bank of America] and pull out any funds from my Guardianship/CD account. My guardian [Mother] and I had to walk into the Court building, go to a particular section of the building, and submit a request through a desk clerk to a judge for a fund withdrawal. Generally, unless the request was tuition/school/education related, they would deny my request. So if I asked for $1k for a new cell phone, digital camera, xbox, sneakers, and other non-essentials, they would deny it right on the spot. However, something like a Dell desktop computer was approved due to it being for an educational purpose.
Anyway, neither the Courts nor my mother reported my earnings to the IRS from 2001-2007. It was when I turned 18 that we were then informed by my mothers tax consultant that those funds should have been reported. The IRS held me responsible, and since, have asked that I pay the taxes I owe, failure to pay fees, and interest charges that were assessed during that time frame. I decided to simply ignore their requests for such an extensive amount and continue to "live my life". NY State then contacted me and informed me that I owed them as well, something along the lines of $30k. I decided to shell out the funds for them, but still opted to avoid the IRS. Now keep in mind, my family didn't grow up "financially inclined", so I didn't exactly understand the future repercussions for my current actions.
A majority of the funds were used for a home I purchased in 2009. The rest, for miscellaneous other items.
In 2010, one of my primary bank accounts were frozen. My mother and I decided to seek "Tax Relief Support" with one of those annoying commercials in order to restore myself in good financial standing. Two years and approx $8k later, we realized that the company, Power Tax Relief, was nothing but a major scam.
Back in April of this year, I contacted the IRS and removed Power Tax Relief as a representative on my behalf. I have since then agreed to a monthly installment agreement of $200 as it is all I can afford. None of my accounts are levied or frozen at this point.
I'm now 23 years old, making just under $50k/yr working for a financial institution [go figure, right?], and judging from the numbers, I won't be done paying the IRS until I'm approximately 57-58 years old.
My employer offers (partial) legal assistance, but because I've just recently started with the company, that assistance won't be effective until January 1st 2014.
Can anyone offer any advice that may help in my current situation? I truly don't feel responsible for this ridiculous payoff as I was merely a child when all of this occurred, and I feel it should've been properly handled through the courts during that time period… Yes, I could have also paid it during my 2008-2010 timeframe, but even so, should i REALLY be responsible? Should they REALLY attempt to collect such a ridiculous amount from a minor who had NO immediate access to his funds up until he reached 18 years old? [other than the educational requests that i previously mentioned] My mother has even opted to take full responsibility for the situation, but I feel even if it is somehow possible to forward the debt to her name/SSN/etc, it really isn't fair….
Any advice/help you guys may offer is greatly appreciated.
Much thanks,
J
I decided to join the forum this afternoon in order to get some advice from others.
It's a bit of a long story, so I will do my best to simplify it…
I inherited a large sum of money through the accidental death of a relative. The funds originated sometime in 2000 and increased on a yearly basis with high interest rates. The funds were dispersed to 10 different financial institutions all within reasonable distance from my previous residence. Throughout this process, my funds were overseen by a particular department in a local Courthouse nearby my home. For example, at 14 years old, I couldn't walk into one of my banks [for this example, lets say Bank of America] and pull out any funds from my Guardianship/CD account. My guardian [Mother] and I had to walk into the Court building, go to a particular section of the building, and submit a request through a desk clerk to a judge for a fund withdrawal. Generally, unless the request was tuition/school/education related, they would deny my request. So if I asked for $1k for a new cell phone, digital camera, xbox, sneakers, and other non-essentials, they would deny it right on the spot. However, something like a Dell desktop computer was approved due to it being for an educational purpose.
Anyway, neither the Courts nor my mother reported my earnings to the IRS from 2001-2007. It was when I turned 18 that we were then informed by my mothers tax consultant that those funds should have been reported. The IRS held me responsible, and since, have asked that I pay the taxes I owe, failure to pay fees, and interest charges that were assessed during that time frame. I decided to simply ignore their requests for such an extensive amount and continue to "live my life". NY State then contacted me and informed me that I owed them as well, something along the lines of $30k. I decided to shell out the funds for them, but still opted to avoid the IRS. Now keep in mind, my family didn't grow up "financially inclined", so I didn't exactly understand the future repercussions for my current actions.
A majority of the funds were used for a home I purchased in 2009. The rest, for miscellaneous other items.
In 2010, one of my primary bank accounts were frozen. My mother and I decided to seek "Tax Relief Support" with one of those annoying commercials in order to restore myself in good financial standing. Two years and approx $8k later, we realized that the company, Power Tax Relief, was nothing but a major scam.
Back in April of this year, I contacted the IRS and removed Power Tax Relief as a representative on my behalf. I have since then agreed to a monthly installment agreement of $200 as it is all I can afford. None of my accounts are levied or frozen at this point.
I'm now 23 years old, making just under $50k/yr working for a financial institution [go figure, right?], and judging from the numbers, I won't be done paying the IRS until I'm approximately 57-58 years old.
My employer offers (partial) legal assistance, but because I've just recently started with the company, that assistance won't be effective until January 1st 2014.
Can anyone offer any advice that may help in my current situation? I truly don't feel responsible for this ridiculous payoff as I was merely a child when all of this occurred, and I feel it should've been properly handled through the courts during that time period… Yes, I could have also paid it during my 2008-2010 timeframe, but even so, should i REALLY be responsible? Should they REALLY attempt to collect such a ridiculous amount from a minor who had NO immediate access to his funds up until he reached 18 years old? [other than the educational requests that i previously mentioned] My mother has even opted to take full responsibility for the situation, but I feel even if it is somehow possible to forward the debt to her name/SSN/etc, it really isn't fair….
Any advice/help you guys may offer is greatly appreciated.
Much thanks,
J