Professor Richard M. Alderman, Associate Dean at the University of
Houston Law Center, who is known to many as "The People's Lawyer", answers your most common questions. If you have a question pertaining to the law in Texas, please e-mail Richard at peopleslawyer@www.law.uh.edu. This page answers your questions on Taxes
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A. Usually, yes. Life insurance counts if it is either payable to the estate, or the decedent retains control of the policy. For example, if you have the right to change the beneficiary, the proceeds will be counted for purposes of estate taxes.
On the other hand, if the insurance is placed out of the control of the owner, for example, in a trust, it will not be included in the estate. If you are concerned about the possibility of estate taxes, you may want to speak with an estate planning attorney to help reduce liability.
Q. My father owned a house until his death at age 85. He did not pay property taxes after he turned 65 and began collecting social security. I have now inherited the house. If I sell it, will I have to pay the back taxes?
A. Yes. At age 65 a person may defer paying taxes. This means that they do not have to be paid until after death or the sale of the property.
In your case, the taxes have continued to accrue and must be paid.
Q. My wife and I have a signed, notarized agreement that states any lottery tickets either of us buy are owned 1/3 each by the two of us and our child. A friend told me that this was a waste of time because it wouldn't be enforceable. He said the IRS would just treat the winnings as mine. Is this true?
A. Based on what you say in your letter, in my opinion, your agreement is an enforceable contract. I would say this regardless of whether it was notarized. In most cases, notarizing a contract has no additional legal effect.
I am not, however, a tax expert, so I really do not know what the tax consequences of winning the lottery would be. You may want to contact the local office of the IRS and ask them. My guess is that because your agreement is enforceable, the money will be taxed as if it was owned 1/3 by each of you.
Q. I know I may be dreaming, but I have a question about what happens if I win the lottery. Is it legal for me to share the winnings with my children? Can I give them a share of what I won without paying any extra taxes?
A. If you know that you want to share any lottery winnings with your children, the best thing to do is enter into a contract with them to share the winnings. An agreement between you and your children to split the winnings of any lottery ticket either of you purchase is an enforceable contract.
If you enter into such an agreement, you should put it in writing. That way, in the event you do win, checks will be issued to both you and your children.
As far as taxes are concerned, both you and your children will have to pay income taxes on the money won. Because of the large amount of money won in the lottery, there probably will not be much of a tax saving. On the other hand, there are no "extra" taxes paid by your children.