drewremedy[at]aol.com (Drewremedy) wrote in news:103pflagoj46090

- quote -

Not necessarily. State laws differ. The surviving spouse may
get all if she is the parent of all the children in some
states. We don't know if there was a TOD deed on the
property in his name alone and if the house held 50/50 was
JTWROS.

If title had not been transferred properly she won't be able
to sell the houses. Hopefully the facts are not as bad as
you thought.

- quote -

Can't argue with that advice. Most likely she could use some
estate planning as well as verification that everything was
done properly at the time of the husband's death. The real
mess will occur if nothing is done and she dies.

Martha Matthews, EA
Probate Paralegal

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- quote -

1. You can file amended returns for 3 years back.

2. I think you need to sort out the changes in basis one by
one--for example if you owned it outright there is NO
change, but if he owned it outright it is 100% stepped up,
and I am not sure about the property held in trust--if the
deed was conveyed earler it may well be the basis at the
time of conveyance.\

3. Giventhat there are essentially busines questions,
remember that business tax questions are deductible expenses
when you engage a pro to help you.

As an aside, if NO estate was filed then the transfer of his
deeded property to you is incomplete and a mess!! And if
there was no will then you do NOT stand to inherit it all,
you must share with the kids under the intestacy laws.

I suggest your starting point is NOT a CPA or EA but with an
estate attorney!!

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sdrake[at]comcast.net (Susan) wrote:

- quote -

See a local tax professional. We cannot possibly provide you
with an answer to your convoluted situation in a BB
response. I'm sure you do not want to share the amount of
detailed information that would be necessary to provide any
kind of substantive answer to your questions. Sorry.

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My husband passed away in 1997. At the time of his death we
had 5 rental houses. I did not realize that my basis in the
property changed (1/2 original basis minus 1/2 depreciation
plus 1/2 FMV on DOD)and have continued depreciating under
original basis. I would like to straighten everything out
this year, but am unsure on a few things. Here are some of
the facts: One of the houses was in my name only. One of the
houses was in his name only. One of the houses was in his
name but in trust for our son (now age 12). Two of the
houses were in both our names. There was no estate filed.
The houses are all in Detroit and were purchased for very
little money but on the DOD, the property value had greatly
increased. I did not have any appraisals done, but am able
to get comps. for the neighborhood in 1997. We did live in
one of the houses before converting it to a rental (will
that even matter?). I have not changed titles on anything.

Here are my questions: Since no estate was filed and I have
continued to claim all of the rent, do I adjust the basis on
all of the houses the same, or does the name on title make a
difference? If so, which ones and how? Do I file a form 3115
for change in accounting method? Will I be entitled to all
unclaimed depreciation back from 1997.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I will be happy to
provide any additional info, if needed. Thanks in advance.

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