Note: BCP Real Estate is not a law firm and its employees/owners are not acting as your attorneys. The information contained on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
This is a question we hear all the time.
“I got served with paperwork a year or two ago. I didn’t really know what to do with it, and then I never heard anything else. I figured it must have gone away.”
Unfortunately, silence usually doesn’t mean the situation has been resolved.
When a tax lawsuit is filed, the process moves at the pace of the county. It can take many months or even longer before the next round of paperwork shows up. The taxes are still owed. The lawsuit is still open. Your name is still listed as a defendant. The fact that nothing has shown up recently doesn’t mean anything has changed underneath.
A lot of people assume that if they ignored the lawsuit, it must have gone to tax auction and been resolved. Sometimes that does happen. But in many cases, the property is still sitting in delinquency, the lawsuit is still active, and the heirs are still legally tied to it. They just haven’t been contacted again yet.
If you’ve been served and haven’t heard anything in a while, you can call the county clerk in the county where the property is located. They can confirm whether the lawsuit is still active and what status it’s in. You can also call the county tax assessor to find out how much is currently owed in back taxes.
If the lawsuit is still open, you still have options. One option is to sell your individual portion and take yourself out of the lawsuit entirely. That gets your name off the case, and you don’t have to wait for the next round of paperwork to find out what happens next.
If you’re looking to remove yourself from a lawsuit and get paid for your interest, no cost to you, call or text us at (469) 708-8003 for an offer today.
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