[WSBARP] Excise tax and penalties for decedent - grant county

[Richard Wills]

*I went round & round with the Grant Cnty Treasurer about this several 
years ago.  I even appealed it to DOR, who agreed with me that no excise 
tax was due on either the 1st or 2nd death.  The Grant Treasurer then 
asked DOR to reconsider, & DOR reversed its ruling, meaning that my 
client had to pay the REET on the 1st death or probate the estate of the 
1st to die, which, like yours, was not worth doing.  My client (PR of 
SS's estate) by this time was so frustrated that he just paid the tax, 
conveyed the home, & closed the probate of the 2nd to die.  Yes, I put 
together a mighty Declaration signed by the PR of the estate of the 2nd 
to die**--- all CP, W's share went to H at 2nd death, etc --- Treasurer 
said that to get the exemption, the Declaration had to be signed by the 
SS, not by the PR of the SS's estate.  And since the SS had died, no 
such Decl was possible.  Geez!  I even consulted with a prominent real 
property litigator, who confirmed the validity of what I wanted to do 
but said that the cost of going forward with DOR about it was not worth 
pursuing it.
**
**No, I've done lots of PR's Deeds in many WA counties, & the only 
county where I've had this problem is Grant.*


On 11/21/2014 11:32 AM, Josh Grant wrote:
> H&W owned real property.  W died in 2009.  H died 2014.  Son is PR.  
> Pr has an P&S for a new buyer. PR is happy to pay the normal excise 
> tax on this sale.
> Title company is allowing sale of W's interest based on our affidavit 
> to clear title, so no probate needed for W.
> Grant County indicates that we have to pay additional excise tax and 
> penalties and interest from 2009 til now on the transfer from W to 
> H... and they base that on a sale price = 1/2 of the assessed value.
> there was no sale back in 2009.  If we did a probate of W's estate, 
> they would have to file a PR deed without any excise tax.  It isn't 
> enough of an excise tax to justify doing a probate.
> any other counties doing this?
> Joshua F. Grant, PS
> Attorney at Law
> P. O. Box 619
> Wilbur, WA 99185
> tel 509 647 5578
> fax 509 647 2734
>
>
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