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.
It’s a jarring piece of mail to open: a lawsuit over property taxes, tied to a relative who passed away, naming you as a defendant. Maybe it was a parent or grandparent. Maybe it was an aunt, uncle, or cousin you weren’t especially close to. Either way, the question is the same. Why me, and why now?
The answer comes down to how property passes in Texas. When someone dies without a will, their real estate transfers to their heirs under the state’s intestacy laws, automatically and often without anyone filing the paperwork to prove it. So even if you never asked for it, never used it, and barely knew the person, the law may regard you as a partial owner of their property. When the taxes on that property go unpaid, the county looks for the heirs to hold accountable, and it researches the family tree to find them. That research is how your name ended up on the suit.
Being named doesn’t mean you’re being singled out or accused of anything. These are civil collection cases aimed at the property and the taxes owed on it, not criminal proceedings against you. The county is simply trying to collect, and naming the identifiable heirs is the standard way to do that when the original owner is gone.
What you can do depends on what you want. If you’d like to keep an interest in the property, an attorney can help you respond and work toward clearing the title. If you’d rather not be involved at all, you don’t have to take on the relative’s property or its tax bill. You can sell whatever share you inherited and step out. Selling your portion removes your name from the lawsuit, regardless of what the other relatives decide to do with theirs.
A couple of questions we hear a lot:
I wasn’t close to this relative and never wanted their property. Am I still stuck with it? You’re not stuck. You can sell the inherited interest and be done, or speak with an attorney about formally disclaiming it. Either way, you have a path out.
Could this affect my own home or finances? These suits target the inherited property and its unpaid taxes. An attorney can speak to your specific exposure, but resolving or selling your share is how most heirs put the matter behind them.
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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