i need tax advice on a real estate transaction between my ex and me it was suppose to be an exchange of assets

Question

i really need legal help on this. in the divorce 2002 i got a piece of property. by may of 2004 my ex had ruined my income on that property and put me in a position to sell it back to him. i agreed after stating that the only way i would was an exchange of prior marital assets so that i did not have to pay taxes on the gains of the sale. i gave my brother power of attorney to close the deal for me because i was out of the USA. somehow my ex screwed me and his attorney 1099ed me to the tune of over $100,000 to pay taxes on...to the feds and the state i owe almost $25,000.00 I don't have the money and my acct says she sees no way that i don't owe this. i'm not faulting her. is there anything that i can do legally about this...i am just so tired of trying so hard to do the right thing and then getting screwed any way...my ex was always stiffing the government when he really owed them..and this is one more thing he pulled on me and is laughing about. forgive me i feel sorry for myself

Answer 1

First of all there is not enough space in this type of forum to provide all of the information that would be required to give you a good answer. But let me try by making a few assumptions. It appears that the property was your separate property by the time that you sold it. It also appears that this was not a home that you had lived in at any time. That being the case, where did this $100,000 come from and did you ever see any of that money directly or as paid debt. People send the IRS 1099s all the time for things they want to deduct as a business expenses but they are not always legitimate. The IRS still sends a request for tax due to the people who reportedly got that money. Frequently all that is required is a letter to the IRS showing that the 1099 is incorrect and the deduction that the issuer should be denied. That may be the best approach to this problem but one would need a great deal more facts. By the way does your ex have any money to go after? I am not a lawyer but the one you will need to fix this will want to know that.

Answer 2

#1 Yes, you need a lawyer
#2 if it is an exchange not called for in the divorce decree, you probably owe the taxes
#3 A lawyer could enter the transaction as a modification to the divorce- then you owe no taxes
BTW
if this is all post 2002, then if the property is under 250K you should owe nothing anyhow! (again - see lawyer)

Answer 3

Yes, you do need legal advice on this - and not ask us nerds that have trouble knowing what to feed the cat for dinner.

Trying to get advice on the cheap never works.
Do you honestly think that professional people who charge a large amount for their time will give you answers for free on this site.

Get real