If enough time has passed, you might have acquired full ownership of the land by adverse possession.
Q: My husband and his father purchased land and operated a business (not a corporation, just a DBA) on it for more than 50 years. When his father died, one-fourth of the land and business passed to my husband’s brother, who has since died and who lived out of state. We don't know who inherited from him. Who now owns the land and business, and who would make this determination?
A: If I had to guess, I'd say you and your husband own an undivided 50% community property interest in the land and business, your husband owns an undivided 25% interest as his separate property, and the beneficiaries of the brother's estate (whoever they are) own the remaining 25%.
TRACKING: Late father-in-law may have had thousands in unknown assets. How to find them?
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Clearly they are not interested in the business, if it's still ongoing, but if you sell it, they might be able to make a claim for 25% of the proceeds.
As to the land, if you were to sell, a title company would almost certainly be able to figure out who actually owns the land. Those other people would presumably be entitled to their share of the proceeds.
However, it is possible that if enough time has passed, the two of you might have acquired full ownership of the other 25% of the land by adverse possession. You may, therefore, want to hire a real estate attorney to see if this is the case.
Q: My name and my daughter's name are on the title for her vehicle, which we own free and clear. Is there a form that I can submit to get my name off the title and have it in her name only? Would there be any tax ramifications? We both reside in Texas.
A: You would need to complete Form 130-U (Application for Texas Title) and Comptroller Form 14-317 (Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer) and then go to one of the tax offices to complete the transfer.
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You will need to have the title to the vehicle, identification, proof of liability insurance and money or a credit card, as there is a fee that must be paid.
There are no state tax ramifications. The transfer of a vehicle to a child is exempt from Texas sales tax.
Whether the gift has federal gift tax consequences depends on the value of your interest in the car. If the value of your interest is less than $17,000, you can make the gift without any federal gift tax consequences, as this is the amount you can give to your daughter each year without it being considered a "taxable" gift.
If the value of your interest is more than $17,000 but less than $34,000 and you are married, half of the gift will be attributable to your spouse so that there would be no "taxable" gift.
If you are not married and the value of your interest is more than $17,000, or if you are married and the value of your interest is over $34,000, the transfer to her will technically require the filing of a federal gift tax return (Form 709) to report that your gift exceeded either the $17,000 or $34,000 amount. No gift tax will be owed though, unless you are extremely wealthy and have already given away over $12.9 million (or $25.8 million combined for spouses).
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The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to: stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.
Ownership of interests in doubt with late brother's heirs unknown
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28.11.2023
If enough time has passed, you might have acquired full ownership of the land by adverse possession.
Q: My husband and his father purchased land and operated a business (not a corporation, just a DBA) on it for more than 50 years. When his father died, one-fourth of the land and business passed to my husband’s brother, who has since died and who lived out of state. We don't know who inherited from him. Who now owns the land and business, and who would make this determination?
A: If I had to guess, I'd say you and your husband own an undivided 50% community property interest in the land and business, your husband owns an undivided 25% interest as his separate property, and the beneficiaries of the brother's estate (whoever they are) own the remaining 25%.
TRACKING: Late father-in-law may have had thousands in unknown assets. How to find........
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