Receiving that dreaded letter from the IRS regarding a personal property lien can be very nerve-wracking and confusing. Many people will wonder ‘What does a lien mean for me?’ Well, a tax lien can be put on your home or other assets and can make things very complicated for you. A lien is not issued to immediately take over your property. However, if the tax is not paid or if the lien is not otherwise dealt with, it can impede your ability to deal with your personal property.
There are a few things you should understand about a tax lien right off the bat:
A tax lien can be put against your motor vehicle, home or rental property, bank account or your earnings.
Once there is a tax lien against your asset it makes it impossible for you to refinance your car or home.
You cannot sell or transfer a piece of property as long as there is a tax lien on it.
A tax lien will prevent you from borrowing any equity from your home.
Anyone can receive a letter from the IRS stating that a personal property lien has been issued against their assets. According to CNN.com the IRS just issued a tax lien against singer Lionel Richie for unpaid taxes. If it can happen to Lionel, it can happen to you! However, there are a number of things you can do to avoid the situation, or get rid of a personal property lien.
Avoiding a Lien:
Paying all your taxes in full and on time is the number one way to avoid a personal property lien. However, if your financial situation is such that you can’t file or pay on time, don’t ignore correspondence or letters from the IRS. If you can’t pay the full amount you owe, payment options are available to help you settle your tax debt over time:
Installment Agreement: Allows you to pay your taxes over time, if you qualify.
Offer in Compromise: Allows you to settle for less than you actually owe, if you meet certain requirements.
You will receive a letter from the IRS releasing your lien within 30 days after you have paid your tax debt.
Get Rid of a Lien:
If conditions are in the best interest of both the government and the taxpayer, these other options may be possible for reducing the impact of a personal property lien.
Discharge of property: This allows property to be sold free of the lien. A discharge of a tax lien removes the lien from a specific property, but the lien remains in place on any other property.
Subordination: This allows other creditors to move ahead of the IRS, which may make it easier to get a loan or mortgage. However, it does not remove the lien.
Withdrawal: This removes the public notice and assures that the IRS is not competing with other creditors for your property. Liens will now be withdrawn once full payment of taxes is made if the taxpayer requests it. Additionally, the IRS has indicated that the following withdrawal scenarios are not available:
Lien withdrawals for taxpayers entering into a Direct Debit Installment Agreement.
The IRS will withdraw a lien if a taxpayer on a regular Installment Agreement converts to a Direct Debit Installment Agreement.
The IRS will also withdraw liens on existing Direct Debit Installment Agreements upon taxpayer request.
If you have received a letter from the IRS regarding a personal property lien, Chang & Carlin can help you deal with the situation. Request a Free Consultation today to learn more about our real estate legal services. Real estate transactions can be extremely complex, and having a lawyer to help you through the process can make life a lot easier and protect you and your family.
DISCLAIMER: All information on this website are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be construed as legal advice. Chang & Carlin shall not be liable for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein, or any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Real estate property rights may seem straightforward enough to most of us - “I own this land, therefore I can do what I like on it and with it.” Regardless if this should be true or not, a deeper look into real estate property rights reveals a complex and shifting array of laws and precedents. As an asset, real estate is unique in several ways, which is a characteristic that has led it to be treated very differently than any other asset in law. For example:
No parcel is exactly like another
It is fixed in place
It is finite in quantity
It can outlast any of its owners
It is necessary for almost every activity humans do
Real estate is treated differently for economic reasons as well. For instance, land use can have a huge impact surrounding property values and the conversely, the primary source of value in real estate is largely external to the property lines. Just as a dilapidated home can drive down the value of neighboring property, a terrific home can be worthless in a destitute area.
An interesting note, according to real estate author Donovan D. Rypkema, “Probably no one influenced the drafters of the U.S. Constitution more than the English political philosopher John Locke - especially on property rights. If there is a single individual who has most affected American political traditions on property rights it is Locke. He was a vociferous property rights advocate. It is Locke that is usually cited in the more historical of the property rights arguments.”
Therefore, most laws in the U.S. are built upon Locke’s philosophy, in fact, Mr. Rypkema writes that, “...for Locke the reason societies are created in the first place is for the protection of property. What is the reason land use controls are created in the first place? For the protection of property.”
However, while we have many real estate property rights that exist to benefit the owner of the property (within reasonable limits), there are many laws which restrict individuals property rights. The following are a few examples:
Condemnation: If the government condemns your land for public use, such as for a highway extension, you have a right to fair compensation for your property. However, the government has a long history of forcing individual property owners off their land.
Homeowners' Associations: Over 50 million Americans currently live in communities run by Homeowners' Associations. As Homeowners' Associations manage common areas in a housing development, you may find you don't have the freedom to do everything you like on your property. Many have very strict rules and regulations.
Re-zoning Disputes: According to author James Bovard, “Modern zoning laws presume that no citizen has a right to control his own land — and that every citizen has a right to control his neighbor’s land. In zoning disputes, property rights, like some type of mysterious vapor, reside any place except with the property owner.”
Easements, Restrictive Covenants and Rights of Way: Neighbors may be encroaching on your land. These cases can be very complex due to variations to boundaries and property ownership confusion.
Partitioning or Dividing Property: If you own land with another person as a tenant in common, you have the right to partition the land so you can own a piece of it individually. However these divisions must occur on a case-by-case basis due to the variations in property size.
Real estate transactions are governed by a wide body of federal statutes, a combination of state statutes and common law. The requirements established by state law often differ significantly from one state to the next, so if you are in the middle of a real estate dispute, hiring representation is essential. Chang & Carlin, LLP have built excellent relationships with clients over the years and we would appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your family in times of economic stress.
DISCLAIMER: All information on this website are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be construed as legal advice. Chang & Carlin shall not be liable for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein, or any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Boundary line issues or boundary line disputes can be large or small in scope. Most of us are familiar with the common arguments that often arise between neighbors, but there are many different forms of boundary disputes.
For example, in 1991 Illinois and Kentucky took a boundary dispute to the supreme court. The dispute centered around the drawing of a boundary line on the northern side of the Ohio River. Kentucky argued that the boundary should be the 1991 low-water mark near the river's northern shore, a border that Illinois officials had agreed to in practice for more than 150 years. A Chicago Tribune report noted that the dispute, “...dates back at least to Illinois` incorporation as a state in 1818, but it has been most vigorously waged for the last five years, largely because of angry anglers forced to buy licenses from both states to fish the river.” According to the U.S. Supreme Court Center, the Supreme Court considered the history and geography of the Ohio River valley, and the location of the boundary of the Commonwealth of Kentucky with the State of Illinois. They held that the boundary line was to be the line of the low water mark along the river's northerly shore as it was in 1792.
This case is a high profile example of the boundary line disputes which happen every day across the United States. Most boundary disputes arise between neighboring property owners and many can be solved simply through open communication.
The following are examples of common border disputes:
Accessing neighbor’s land for your own property repairs: Property owners sometimes may need to have access to neighboring property in order to carry out repairs to their own property or land. This can cause conflict if there is any hesitance to grant access.
Shared repairs: With a shared fence or other common border in need of repairs, the first issue is to find out who is responsible for the cost of repairs. State property law and legal documents may not always provide conclusive guidance about who is responsible.
Establishing the boundaries and ownership: These types of boundary disputes between neighbors are very common, as there is often ambiguity to border ownership rights. The best chance for obtaining evidence should be available in the property’s legal documents.
Shared walls: If you are planning to work on walls which stand across the boundary of land belonging to different owners, you may need to consult a legal expert, as there may be special rules which apply. The owner must always notify neighbors about any work they intend to carry out.
Parking spaces: If there is a shared drive, then each person has a right of access and neither should block the drive. In a shared driveway situation, it is best to consult property law and legally establish parking rights to avoid any disputes in the future.
Overhanging branches: If a neighbor’s tree hangs over a neighboring property, the tree owner should be asked to trim back the tree. If this is not done, the right exists to trim the tree back to the boundary line.
Roots: If the roots of a neighboring tree spread onto your property, you may remove them in the least damaging method possible if there is no standing tree preservation order. If you have to enter the tree owner’s property to do this, you must give reasonable notice.
Many of these types of common boundary disputes are settled through informal agreements
between both property owners. However, tensions often do run high when
it comes to personal property, and thus it is good to know how a
resolution may be reached in a number of different scenarios.
Knowing
your options can make boundary dispute resolution a less daunting task.
Amicable Agreements: Probably the least costly and time-consuming method, coming to an informal agreement between you and your neighbor may be a best case scenario for the moment. However, without legally validated documents, issues could return in the future. A better form of this method would be taking the advice of a jointly instructed expert in boundary disputes.
Alternative Disputes Resolution: This is a catch-all title used to describe a group of formal methods for resolving disputes to avoid taking the issue to court. However, should a party insist on taking the matter to court, the court could be inclined to uphold the results of a dispute resolution agreement.
Legal Action: This type of action is used when other avenues of property dispute resolution have been exhausted, so the parties are looking to settle their dispute by means of the decision of a judge handed down in a court of law. Once initiated, the courts are normally only interested in resolving the disputed boundary line on the basis of the property law, evidence, and legal arguments. The behavior of either of the parties during the course of the dispute is not typically a deciding factor in establishing the position of the boundary.
If you are currently dealing with or want to avoid a boundary dispute in the future in Chicago, you might want to consider consulting with a real estate attorney. They can help you understand how the law applies to your property and boundary line disputes.
DISCLAIMER: All information on this website are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be construed as legal advice. Chang & Carlin shall not be liable for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein, or any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Chicago real estate lawyersspecialize in helping people navigate their real estate transactions and this includes helping when a property has a lien on it. Typically a lien comes out after the real estate transaction is already in process and it's often a surprise to at least one party involved.
A lien prevents the sale of the property until an outstanding debt is paid. If there is a lien on a house you are selling then you need to clear the lien before the sale can go through. The only way a lien can be cleared is by paying back the debts owed or by settling the lien with the party in question.
By definition most houses have liens on them. Technically a mortgage on a home is a lien on the property. It's an assurance that you will make payments towards your debt. Should you stop making those payments then the bank can take the property to fulfill the lien. Obviously having a lien does not slow the sale of the home because the lien is paid off in full at the closing.
It is not common to have a lien on a property that you are buying or selling but it certainly does happen. Property liens are just one example of why it's so important to hire a Chicago real estate lawyer to help with your home sales and purchases.
Your Chicago real estate attorney does a lot during your real estate transaction. Besides checking the property for liens your attorney will also review and help prepare all the official documents pertaining to the sale including purchase and sales agreements and closing documents. Another benefit to a Chicago real estate attorney is that if you hire them from the beginning of the transaction and a glitch comes up during the sale they will be better prepared to handle the issue since they've been involved from the start.
DISCLAIMER: All information on this website are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be construed as legal advice. Chang & Carlin shall not be liable for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein, or any actions taken in reliance thereon.
