Will sisters non tax or bill paying husband ruin her?

Question

Renee new husband has not filed taxes in maybe five or six years he also owes back child support and school bills. I know the big L anyways she is successful and also ownes a rental home,the two of us will inherite my fathers estate when he passes. Can her wages be garnished? can the IRS come after her? she says because she is not using his name and because he signed a prenaptual she is safe. Should she annul the marrage and just live with the guy?

Answer 1

There are a lot of ifs with this problem. Your sister needs to determine why her husband hasn’t filed in 6 years. If it’s because he will be getting refunds and he thought that they would just get taken; he should file his returns and let the refunds to child support or student loans. Until all this back debt gets cleared up she should file the injured spouse form with her return so they don’t take her part of the refund when she files a joint return with him.

If his non filing is because he owes, he needs to fix that problem so it doesn't occur in the future. If he is self employed he needs to make his estimated tax payments, if he is an employee he needs to fill out a new w-4 so the correct amount of tax is withheld. He needs to call IRS to find out if any of the returns are delinquent, and get wage transcripts. A return will be considered delinquent if the IRS thinks he will owe for that year, if they think he is do a refund they don’t care if he files or not. He has 3 years from the due date of the return to claim a refund, if it goes past this date the government gets to keep his refund, so for old returns he is wasting his time filing them unless they are delinquent. If he owes for back years and he files his returns at the closest IRS office instead of mailing them, they can enter into an installment agreement with him at that time. If he mails the returns he will have to wait until the returns are processes to make an agreement to pay.

As to the question can this directly hurt her; the answer is no. The IRS can’t levy her bank accounts (unless he is on them) or levy her wages, it is his debt she is not responsible. But they can levy his wages and that seems to happen at the worst time. So if they are counting on his income in any way it will affect her.

If he won’t come into compliance with the law by filing and paying his taxes she should not file a joint return with him. If she does, she is just as liable for his current taxes as he is.

Answer 2

Geez, she did pick a loser, didn't she!

If she files her own tax returns including all of her own income, and files as married filing separately, that should keep her clean with the IRS. Other debts he acquires after their marriage can be more complicated, and under some circumstances she could end up responsible for those. And anything they own jointly could be taken for his debts, so she shouldn't have joint ownership with him on anything.

Using his name or not doesn't affect anything at all. And prenups sometimes can be broken - also, he could end up with a right to half of anything she's acquired DURING the marriage even with the prenup. Assets gotten by inheritance should be exempt from his getting half in most states, but she can't even count on that for sure.

Marrying him was not a good idea, and staying married to him isn't either. But that's her call, not yours.

Answer 3

some good answers already. one point of clarification, she will be in trouble going foreward, for debts he may incur during the marriage. based on your description, annulment sounds like a good idea, and living with the guy sounds like it could be a mistake for any number of reasons. Any man who doesn't meet his obligations to his children better have a really good reason, like he was in a coma maybe. That said, ex-wives can be vicious and vindictive and family court can be cruel at times too, so I'd at least hear him out on the child support issue before she passes judgement. But when a guy hasn't filed taxes AND owes back child support, a pretty unpleasant picture starts to form.

Annulment for sure, and probably ditch the guy altogether unless he has a very good story which she can independently verify.

Answer 4

Using his name or not makes no difference. If she signs a joint tax return with him, the IRS can come after her assets including wages, rental income, and inheritances. Given your description, this is a case where separate returns are a good idea. Separate bank accounts, credit cards, deeds, all financial matters.

Of course spouses can hurt each other financially regardless of any agreements or laws. As long as she has reviewed her situation, taking into account the state laws that apply, she has informed herself of the risks she is willing to take on.

Answer 5

Annul the marriage and move out, IMHO. There are plenty of decent guys around; this jerk is a LOSER.

She's OK as long as she files a return. Whether that's jointly with him or separately is up to her. With his track record, I'd be filing a separate return.