who pays property tax,the executer of an estate or the tenant?

Question

when my kids turn 18 they will own the trailer.I pay a lot fee every month.Ex-husband died 3 years ago & made his sister the executive of the "estate". The tax bill has his name c/o her name with my address.

Answer 1

Generally speaking, If you are the registered owner of any property, via estate or any other means, or if you are the official executor of a deceased person's estate, you specifically are required to pay the taxes to the jurisdiction the property exists within.
However, if the tenant has made a specific rental agreement or lease with the late owner, it may include paying the taxes.

If you are the executor, you MUST check the existing lease or rental agreement and determine if there was any tax clause, or other agreement, but in the meantime make a serious effort to pay any taxes due or you will cause the loss of the property.
The EXECUTOR assigned handles the estate and pays any bills due on the estate of the deceased, so that will most likely include the taxes due.
His SISTER as executor must pay the taxes unless she can show that YOU or the tenant have an agreement that says otherwise.
By the way, find out if you, as the surviving spouse, own half of the property. IN many jurisdictions the surviving spouse owns half or all of the property automatically and the 'estate' is what remains, i.e. the other half.

If there is a legal hassle with the sister, it would be better to find out if this applies in your jurisdiction.

Answer 2

The property owner pays the taxes. If the property is owned by the estate, the estate will pay it. The executor is responsible for cutting the check. However, if he died 3 years ago, the estate should have been settled by now. If so, whoever inherited it has to pay the bill.

Answer 3

It can depend on the state, but generally speaking, taxes are paid by the "owner". It's difficult to tell from your facts exactly who that is in this case, but it sounds like it may be that the trailer is held in Trust by the estate until one or all of them turn 18. If that's the case, the Trust/estate should pay it, unless the Will/Trust document says the "beneficiary" (the kids) must pay it.

Of course, if the Trust/Estate has no other assets, the reality is that the taxes will be paid by the person most interested in not losing it for unpaid taxes. That might be you.

Answer 4

the usual case is that the legal owner of property pays the taxes. This assures the owner that they have been paid and thus protects him/it from losing the property to a tax lien or sale.

AND, your case might be different.

Possible sources of difference might be

1. your divorce decree specifys who pays the taxes [this might be indirect in a clause that says "costs of ownership" or some such similar language]
2. you have a lease that specifies who pays them
3. the taxes are actually levied on the trailer as opposed to the land it sits on, AND you are the owner of the trailer or subject to #1 or #2 relating to the trailer.

An issue I foresee here is that it is unusal for an estate to not be settled three years after the death. [Glam movie stars and rich people's estates are not 'usual' examples.]

That suggests to me that your ex-'s Will may have created a Trust for the benefit of his minor [under age 18] children AND that the Trust is the legal owner of the trailer/property. If so, the Trust fills the role of owner mentioned above and it is the Executor's job to have the property re-titled correctly [which will fix the tax bill].

If your case is beyond these general comments, you may need to consult an attorney versed in the laws of the state where the trailer is and (possibly) those of the state where your divorce was issued.

Answer 5

It would depend on you state's probate laws. Seems like the executor would pay.