• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Waste of Life estate

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

K

kakar5

Guest
What is the name of your state? Texas

My mother is the life tenant of some acreage (no buildings or improvements) which serves as a hay field. An uncle, who is one of eight of us with remainder interest in the property, had the tax roles changed and started paying the property taxes over ten years ago. He has recently brought suit against my mother to be paid for all those taxes claiming waste of the estate. I contend that first, he volunteered to accept the responsibility and secondly there is no waste of the estate as there is really nothing to deteriorate.

Does he have legal grounds, and if so, how far back does she owe him?
 


Dandy Don

Senior Member
What were the names on the tax rolls changed from (from what to what), or who was/is the offocial owner of the property?

Is the property owned by a trust or by an estate or by individuals?

Were there unpaid delinquent property taxes on the property (for over 5 years) at the time that uncle took over, and how much was the total tax liability?
 
K

kakar5

Guest
The name on the tax roll was changed from my mother as an individual to my uncle etal. The ownership of the property is 25% for the uncle, 12.5% for myself, my brother, two cousins and 8.33 between 3 other cousins.

My mother was current on the taxes. She went to pay one year and found the change had been made by my uncle and he had already paid that year.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
kakar5 said:
What is the name of your state? Texas

My mother is the life tenant of some acreage (no buildings or improvements) which serves as a hay field. An uncle, who is one of eight of us with remainder interest in the property, had the tax roles changed and started paying the property taxes over ten years ago. He has recently brought suit against my mother to be paid for all those taxes claiming waste of the estate. I contend that first, he volunteered to accept the responsibility and secondly there is no waste of the estate as there is really nothing to deteriorate.

Does he have legal grounds, and if so, how far back does she owe him?

My response:

Other than paying the taxes, what is your uncle doing with the land?

IAAL
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Did uncle have the legal authority to change the names? It would seem that he did not. No one can make a proper evaluation of this situation without looking at the documents involved and the exact charges described in the lawsuit.
 
K

kakar5

Guest
My uncle is doing nothing with the land. It is a hay field my mother leases for a few dollars. Before filing suit he sought to become the life tenant, but the only thing on this rural land is hay. The fields around it are crops or trailer houses. There is no indication of any thing worth drilling for. Her life estate just protects her five contiguous acres from what goes on on the other 25. We have never understood why he started paying (doubtful it was benevolence) to start with.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top