I am presently in the middle of a divorce. In 2005 my parents sold land purchased prior to the marriage that was held in my brother's and my names. I am still filing jointly this year. Should the capital gains be paid from these proceeds being held separately and will paying it from joint assets create a comingling of these gains? Thanks
If you read the above paragraph as if you had no working knowledge of the situation, I think you'll agree it's a challenge. I'm going to assume that this is property titled to you and your brother before you, the inquirer, were married to the spouse you're now divorcing. How your parents sold property they didn't own is beyond me.
There's no tax issue. Talk to your divorce lawyer.
-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD
This is much too complicated to deal with here.
First of all, to answer your specific question it depends on the laws of the state(s) you and your parents live in. More important in my mind - why was the property in your and your brother's names? Was it really your parents' property? Were they living there? Is their tax bracket lower than yours? It could be that you and your brother were really holding the property in trust for your parents, and that any income (and consequent tax) on the sale belongs to them. Stu
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