rottwielerinpa
04-26-2008, 03:22 PM
Im going to be a little long winded to get to my point.
My father passed away about 21 years ago in NJ. At the time of his passing he had stock in a local company. Approx 450 shares that he put into a reinvestment plan. He never had a will when he died. My mother never did anything with his estate, never probated etc. So this stock sat all this time,well my mother passed in 2001 without her ever doing anything with this.
I knew of the stock but never did anything with it until recently myself . I was contacted by a company that wanted to liquidate the stock for a fee. I turned them down and hired a lawyer to get things done right and legal. My brother signed off and let me handle the estate. We are at the end of things and about to liquidate the stock.
My question is this, I know that there is no inheritance tax that I need to worry about in Jersey and signed paperwork to that . What if any federal tax do Myself and my brother need to worry about with this. Since there is no will does it still act like there was and the stock or proceeds are considered a gift? Or is it going to be considered an income and Ill need to claim on my taxes ? My lawyer says its going to depend on how its bequeathed to us . The amount that my brother and I are going to get is a decent chunk of change and I know if its going to be listed as income for me its going to push me into another tax bracket and raise my tax to 28%. Thanks for any advice.
My father passed away about 21 years ago in NJ. At the time of his passing he had stock in a local company. Approx 450 shares that he put into a reinvestment plan. He never had a will when he died. My mother never did anything with his estate, never probated etc. So this stock sat all this time,well my mother passed in 2001 without her ever doing anything with this.
I knew of the stock but never did anything with it until recently myself . I was contacted by a company that wanted to liquidate the stock for a fee. I turned them down and hired a lawyer to get things done right and legal. My brother signed off and let me handle the estate. We are at the end of things and about to liquidate the stock.
My question is this, I know that there is no inheritance tax that I need to worry about in Jersey and signed paperwork to that . What if any federal tax do Myself and my brother need to worry about with this. Since there is no will does it still act like there was and the stock or proceeds are considered a gift? Or is it going to be considered an income and Ill need to claim on my taxes ? My lawyer says its going to depend on how its bequeathed to us . The amount that my brother and I are going to get is a decent chunk of change and I know if its going to be listed as income for me its going to push me into another tax bracket and raise my tax to 28%. Thanks for any advice.