My parents own a house in a small subdivision and behind the house is a large area of undeveloped land that hasn't been taken care of for decades. I assume it is owned by a local real estate company, but not entirely sure. My parents cleared out all the kudzu that was creeping into their yard and made a space that goes about five feet out along the length of the fence. They recently started planting some vegetables in this area since its not in use and it seems whoever owns it has no plans to do anything with it but I am concerned they could get into some legal trouble if company who owns it finds out they have this small garden back there. So the question is, can my parents get into serious trouble with this?
Your parents won't get into serious trouble for doing this. Some one might one day come by tell them they can't plant there anymore. If they do plant on this land and use it consistently for 15 years they can claim the land as their own. The best thing to do is go to the county and find out who owns the land then go to the group that has jurisdiction over the land which will be the town, city, village level or county level and ask how the land is zoned and what the future plans are for this parcel. This will give you the best estimate of what will eventually happen w/ your property. They should have done this before purchasing their property and any decent real estate agent would have made sure this was done. Sadly in the residential real estate field only about 2% of the agents realize this is important. You could have the back alley of a Wal Mart coming in next year or a manufacturing plant, pig farm, etc. All of these will kill your property value.
No: one million. There isn't any federal tax on receiving an inheritance. (There is a federal property tax, however it's paid by means of the property, no longer by means of the recipient of the present.) two. There isn't any federal tax on truly property or land. However: one million. You do pay truly property tax (which isn't a federal tax) at the land. two. You would possibly or will not be required to pay an inheritance tax to the state (no longer federal) executive.
Not terribly serious, unless they cause some long term damage to the property. The owners could potentially come along at any time and deny them access to the area, including any produce.
No, your parents I'm sure understand the risk. To find out who owns that parcel all you need to do is check with the Property tax appraisal office for that county, it's public information. In most states and counties you will find this information on line.
