Posted on: 09th Dec, 2011 05:01 pm
My mother left an undeveloped property in Florida to me and my two siblings. My brother passed away a few years ago, but his widow has not taken any steps to update the deed to reflect her name, and she is unable to pay her 1/3 of the taxes. Furthermore, after my brother passed away she moved from California to Texas.
Since the assessed value of this property has plummeted from a peak of $65,000 to about $5000, we all would like to simply forfeit the land to avoid any further tax burden (which is currently about $750/yr). The legal costs of probating to transfer ownership from our late bother to his widow, and then processing her quit claim (which she is willing to do as she has not paid her share of taxes for several years) make walking away from the property very tempting. My sister and I, however, are concerned about the ramifications this may have upon our credit and legal stature. Should we be concerned, or is this a simple and common scenario?
Since the assessed value of this property has plummeted from a peak of $65,000 to about $5000, we all would like to simply forfeit the land to avoid any further tax burden (which is currently about $750/yr). The legal costs of probating to transfer ownership from our late bother to his widow, and then processing her quit claim (which she is willing to do as she has not paid her share of taxes for several years) make walking away from the property very tempting. My sister and I, however, are concerned about the ramifications this may have upon our credit and legal stature. Should we be concerned, or is this a simple and common scenario?
If there is no loan, your credit will not be affected. Place the land for sale, you may find someone who is willing to purchase, or develop your land if so fit.