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.
A “tax suit” is a lawsuit filed to collect delinquent property taxes. When taxes on a property have gone unpaid long enough, the taxing entities can take the matter to court, and that court case is what people mean by a tax suit, sometimes also called a delinquent tax suit or tax foreclosure suit.
The case is typically brought by the taxing units owed the money, such as the county, school district, and city, often working through a law firm that handles delinquent tax collections. They file a document called an Original Petition, which opens the suit, and the property owners are named as defendants. For inherited property, that means the heirs the county can identify are named, which is how people end up served with papers over a relative’s property.
The purpose of the suit is to obtain a court judgment for the unpaid taxes, penalties, interest, and costs, and to enforce the tax lien against the property. If the case isn’t resolved, it can proceed toward that judgment and ultimately authorize a tax sale, where the property is sold to satisfy what’s owed. So a tax suit is the formal legal step that connects unpaid taxes to the possibility of losing the property.
For heirs, recognizing a tax suit for what it is helps cut through the fear. It’s a civil collection case aimed at the property and its taxes, not a criminal proceeding. And being named in one doesn’t mean the outcome is fixed. There are options at each stage: responding through an attorney, addressing the taxes with the authority, or selling a share to step out of the case. The suit is serious, but it’s also a process with room to act.
A couple of quick questions:
Who files a tax suit? The taxing entities owed the money, such as the county, school district, and city, usually through a law firm that handles delinquent tax collection. The property owners, including identified heirs, are named as defendants.
Is a tax suit a criminal case? No. It’s a civil lawsuit to collect unpaid taxes and enforce the tax lien against the property. It targets the property and the debt, not the person criminally.
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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