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My mom has a 3 bank accounts set for her 3 daughters. WIll we pay gift taxes. Our names are not on yet, just hers, needs advice.

Asked over 2 years ago - Dallas, TX

MY parents owned a building together, after my dad died, my mom sold, could not take care of. She wants to split the monies from the sale between us 3 sisters. She did not have to pay capital gains due to a loss on the building. Will we have to pay taxes on those monies? She will either set up joint accounts if better or just put our names on them. She says our dad would have wanted that way. The building sold in Illinois, one sister lives there, one sister in Texas & one sister in Neveda. What are our options. Should we see an attorney for this?

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Attorney answers (2)

Theodore W. Robinson

Reputation Level 20

Answered over 2 years ago. Criminal Defense Attorney in Hempstead, NY.

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The best thing you can do is have her hire an attorney where she lives to make sure she gets it done the right way, according to the laws of her state.

If she puts your names on bank accounts jointly with hers as rights of survivors, they're called Totten Trusts because you receive them by operation of law when she passes. Generally, there's no tax to be paid on such accounts.

If she gives the money to you outright, there may be gift tax to pay, however, that's why I suggested you hire an estate and trusts attorney in her area to oversee the matter.

Good luck.

thelawteam.com

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Robert Jeffrey Mueller

Reputation Level 10

Answered over 2 years ago. Trusts Attorney in San Antonio, TX.

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The contents of this answer is for educational purposes only and does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.

For the year 2009, the Internal Revenue Code allows a person to give $13,000 per beneficiary per year without gift tax exposure. And even to that rule there are exceptions (like the lifetime gift allowance under the unified credit, or education/health issues). There are many ways to deal with this situation, including the JTWROS accounts. There are also many issues to be mindful of, including income taxation, legal ownership and control, disclaimers, etc. Also you might want to check and see if she can still issue a qualified disclaimer from the sale or estate. That would solve a lot of tax problems.

If you should need any further advice, or more specfics as it relates to your case, you will need to hire a Texas attorney of your choice who practices in this area.

Good Luck! Robert

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