Missouri Tax Legal Questions

The pre-marriage debt is separate. However, joint accounts may be liable for it. Here's why. Assume joint account has $1,000. IRS take debtor spouse's half. That leave $5000. It is still jointly owned. IRS can take. In effect, IRS can take the whole thing. But separate property that is kept separate cannot be taken, whether or not the spouses file a joint return for a later, married, year. Still, if the savings for filing joint is not high, and the cost of preparing separate returns is not too high, then you might consider filing separate returns. You can switch to joint any time within 3 years. (But you cannot switch from joint to separate, ever.)... Read More

You may have to get a divorce then filed for Innocent Spouse Relief. I go see a Family Law attorney to get a referral to a Tax Attorney, or go to a Tax Attorney to get a referral to a Family Law Attorney. Either way, unless you are particularly lucky to find one attorney that does both, you are going to need two attorneys. Good luck.... Read More

It is not legal for private parties to require you to get a letter about why you file your taxes a certain way. It is particularly not legal when there is no tax reason or business reason for the request. You do not have to supply the letter to the women who are asking you for it. It is not legal for the college to release this information without your permission either. And you do not have to give your permission if you do not want to do so.... Read More

Did you actually receive a distribution from either your grandparents' estate or from a trust? If you received a benefit from them which would have been taxable as income and there were no funds in the estate/trust to pay the taxes, you could be liable for some of the taxes. There is a provision in the Internal Revenue Code called "transferee liability." See Section 6901 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. Sec. 6901).... Read More

Generally, the personal representative of the estate can sue for estate taxes to the extent of the taxes attributable to assets received by you but included in the taxable estate. The IRS also can do so to the extent of the value of assets received by you if all the estate taxes were not paid.... Read More

If the IRS sends you a letter claiming that you owe them a balance due, they will have some basis for doing so. If you call IRS, they should be able to tell you the source of their tax assessment, from their internal records, which are based on the tax returns you filed. Once you have established the accuracy of balance due number, you can proceed with a resolution proposal.... Read More

You can ask for a meeting with a revenue officer to explain this. The IRS should have told you in that letter that you could disagree with them. This "disagreement" must be in writing. Ultimately, if you and the IRS can't agree you can pay the tax and then sue the United States for a refund or you can sue the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in Tax Court without first paying the tax. You must pay attention to what the IRS sends you. You have 90 days to sue in Tax Court after you receive what is called "Statutory Notice of Deficiency."... Read More

The easiest thing to do would be to contact the IRS to see if they can provide you with an explanation. You can call them, but be prepared to wait for assistance. It may be better to go in person to your local IRS office. Note also that the IRS has a Taxpayer Advocate Service that helps people navigate the bureaucracy and obtain answers. Contact and other information about the IRS and its offices can be found at the following we page: http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/article/0,,id=98259,00.html Good luck.... Read More

It is easy to transfer title to your two homes to your children but do you really want to? You can draw a new grant deed an put them on as joint tenants. They will receive the full title upon your death without probate. However, the properties would be subject to the creditors of your kids prior to your death if they defaulted on other loans or became involved in an accident. You would also have to file a gift tax return assuming the value of the homes is over $13,000. The gift tax exemption credit is rather large now so that you would probably not have to pay any gift tax, unless you have already used your lifetime credit. A less complicated way to do this is to set up a revocable living trust. Put the homes in the trust with you as trustees. The homes will stay in your names(the name of the trust) until you die. The houses will pass to the kids on your death without the need for probate. There are other tax issues that favor the trust approach regarding the basis of the homes.... Read More