# Spouse didn't pay inheritance tax. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883 "2010-12-20T22:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/21 "2010-12-21T15:53:47Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Who needs a prelude? True enough. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/22 "2010-12-21T16:05:16Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Isn’t $250,000 the cutoff amount for federal estate tax? > > Was the cutoff lower when he was a kid? How long ago was this? Why wouldn’t the IRS have gone after this years ago? > > As **Al Bundy** says, this doesn’t sound quite right. I want to correct something I said. $250,000 is not a cutoff amount for inheritance tax. The cutoff for the federal estate tax is actually in the millions, so it wouldn’t make sense that the IRS would be going after him for this. What could make sense is that they’re going after him for income tax on money earned on it since it was inherited. ---
**Author:** ![fleetman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@fleetman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fleetman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/23 "2010-12-21T16:15:51Z")
Hi again, First, sorry for misspelling blood. Now here are more details. For most of the marrige we lived in NYC (rented an apartment). Kept seperate bank accounts. Even paid for dinners dutch. Move to California (Bay Area) two years ago. Bought a condo under my name only. My spouse paid toward the monthly mortgage but we still had seperate bank accounts. This trust that was set up after the death of my spouses parents in a plane crash was supposed untouchable by my spouse because he felt it was blood money. The plane crash occured when my spouse was 14 years old. Now I find out he has spent the trust on himself over the many, many years and the IRS wants it’s tax. We are getting divorced now. How do I protect myself from this fraud? fleetman ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/24 "2010-12-21T16:27:58Z")
Definitely a case for professional legal advice. Don’t just work with your divorce lawyer - find someone who works in tax law. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/25 "2010-12-21T17:09:29Z")
Agreed about finding a lawyer. Also, do you know who the trustee is? I would imagine the trustee bears the responsibility for not paying taxes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/26 "2010-12-21T17:16:00Z")
> [@fleetman](#): > > Hi again, > > This trust that was set up after the death of my spouses parents in a plane crash was supposed untouchable by my spouse because he felt it was blood money. The plane crash occured when my spouse was 14 years old. Now I find out he has spent the trust on himself over the many, many years and the IRS wants it’s tax. We are getting divorced now. How do I protect myself from this fraud? > > fleetman 1. It’s not _inheritance tax_, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the estate tax. It’s a tax on income earned. Whether or not it was spent has _nothing_ to do with the fact that the Trust may have earned income, which is taxable to the Trust. 2. If you have your facts straight, then it’s taxable to the **Trust** , not to either of you. Thus, apparently you don’t have your facts straight. 3. It’s not “fraud”. If you file a Joint Tax return, you are _generally_ liable for any and all taxes owed by either. You signed the tax return and it sez that. As **Rand Rover** sez, there is a thing called “innocent spouse relief.” 4. As about a half-dozen posters have said- \*\*hire a good lawyer. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/27 "2010-12-21T17:23:06Z")
Must have been tricky marrying another man in New York. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/28 "2010-12-21T17:30:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Must have been tricky marrying another man in New York. Not to mention getting the IRS to allow a Married Filing Jointly return with DOMA in force. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/29 "2010-12-21T17:32:06Z")
With the husband’s insistence that a quasi-Chinese wall be set up between the finances of the two spouses, one wonders about what would prompt him to be okay with filing income taxes jointly. Don’t ask us.\* If you’re getting a divorce, you’ve presumably got a lawyer of your own already. This is who you should be asking, for a referral, if nothing else. If you are trying to get by with a DIY divorce, an occurrence such as this should be your cue that, in your personal circumstances, nothing could be a worse idea. Godspeed. \*And certainly don’t join the Dope _just so you can ask us_. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/30 "2010-12-21T17:41:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > 1. It’s not “fraud”. If you file a Joint Tax return, you are _generally_ liable for any and all taxes owed by either. You signed the tax return and it sez that. As **Rand Rover** sez, there is a thing called “innocent spouse relief.” Aside from this point, which is a good one (because you can’t amend a joint tax return to MFS),it’s also important to remember community property laws. CA is a CP state, NY isn’t. It doesn’t sound like the OP knows for sure when he took the money out-- I’d imagine for at least the portion removed in California, she’d be responsible for it even they did MFS, no? Of course she could always try an Innocent Spouse claim, but she’d have to prove she literally knew nothing. If your ex isn’t a total douchehat, OP, maybe you can get a deposition from him saying he swears you had nothing to do with it. IRS might buy that (this worked for one of our clients). Diosa (who is studying for her EA exam and this totally sounds like one of the practice questions from my study book) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/31 "2010-12-21T18:31:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Must have been tricky marrying another man in New York. Huh?😕 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/32 "2010-12-21T18:33:40Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Not to mention getting the IRS to allow a Married Filing Jointly return with DOMA in force. The IRS doesn’t really normally question that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/33 "2010-12-21T18:39:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Huh?😕 I guess it’s because the OP is named fleetman[FONT=“Arial”][/FONT]? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/34 "2010-12-21T18:39:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Huh?😕 > [@DrDeth](#): > > The IRS doesn’t really normally question that sort of thing. I think they’re assuming the OP is a man because the username is fleetMAN. But, very clearly, if they were married in New York state. . . they are are male and female. heh ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/35 "2010-12-21T19:29:28Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I guess it’s because the OP is named fleetman[FONT=“Arial”][/FONT]? So author Sharon Kay Penman’s a dude? I don’t know why people would assume the OP is male rather than their screen name is based on a surename. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883/36 "2010-12-21T19:40:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So author Sharon Kay Penman’s a dude? I don’t know why people would assume the OP is male rather than their screen name is based on a surename. From the confusion, it seems to be an unsure name… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spouse-didnt-pay-inheritance-tax/564883.md?page=1)