Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

[deleted] t1_iu5paud wrote

[removed]

142

peon2 t1_iu601tw wrote

Man I'd cry tears of joy if I got a $60,000 check in the mail.

Well actually I'd probably assume it's a scam and throw it out, but ya know.

156

[deleted] t1_iu60v31 wrote

[removed]

92

peon2 t1_iu60ynq wrote

Damn that's cool. If you don't mind my asking how much was it?

9

[deleted] t1_iu61hkw wrote

[removed]

81

fleurgirl123 t1_iu6tsgv wrote

How wealthy was he? I didn’t think there would be taxes on it unless it was above $5 million.

8

random-idiom t1_iu7d3om wrote

That's only if you leave a will and follow the rules - if you die and don't have a will a very large chunk of your estate goes poof, and then there are fees for whoever is appointed by the court to track down 'heirs' - which can include PI fees searching for people.

You do avoid the worst if you die and have a spouse - as they get everything by assumption if they are alive - but kids don't without a will the court has to do it's thing.

7

fuddykrueger t1_iu8j8lk wrote

In some states dying intestate (without a will) causes your estate to be split 50/50 with 50% going to spouse and the other 50% going to the kids (split evenly). There are different rules in each state.

For instance in Illinois, spouse gets half and kids get half (copied and pasted):

Illinois

If you have a spouse but no children, the spouse inherits everything. If you have children but no spouse, the children inherit everything. If you have a spouse and children, the spouse and the children receive half of your property each. If you have parents but no spouse, children, or siblings, your parents inherit everything. If you have siblings but no spouse, children, or parents, the siblings inherit everything. If you have parents and siblings, but no spouse or children, your property is evenly divided among each parent and each sibling. (However, if you have only one parent alive, that parent receives a double share.)

6

Boozeled t1_iu6gma4 wrote

I'm so disappointed that I can't remember the name but there is a very interesting podcast episode that walks through the process of someone dying without next of kin or a will. It can be such a lengthy process. I've joked about having a secret rich relative but it's interesting to learn that it actually does happen.

9

[deleted] t1_iu6oa9j wrote

[removed]

11

Boozeled t1_iu6pqhb wrote

What a blessing for your family! I'm still trying to find the episode because it's something people don't often contemplate- how tedious that work must be.

3

TSL4me t1_iu6no4j wrote

Weird shit happens in retirement home relationships too. Its not unheard of for an old couple to run off and get married and die soon after, some times it's poly and LGBT relationships too. It really throws the family and estate people an unexpected curveball. Good on the old peeps for having fun though.

5

Junior_Builder_4340 t1_iu7dftk wrote

Is it "Stuff You Need to Know"?

1

ChairmanLaParka t1_iu62tbe wrote

Never hurts to check on the validity of money sent to you.

Back in the pre-internet days, I had a check for $250,000 sent to me. I almost threw it away. But decided to take it to a local lawyer to verify authenticity. He did some research, found it to be legit, and told me it was safe to deposit.

Turns out a company I worked briefly for (I mean, literally maybe 6 weeks), went out of business and was paying out their remaining cash to recent employees as long as they'd been employed within the last year. I didn't recognize the sender on the envelope because it was the corporation's name, not that businesses'. What makes it even better is that I wasn't fired. I'd quit. Because I asked for time off when I was hired for 6 weeks out for a concert I wanted to go to (Metallica), and they initially approved it, but denied it when the day came. I came in to work, told them I was leaving at 6 so they needed to get someone there. No one came. So I locked it up, took the key to the shop next door (friend of the owner), and quit on the spot.

Best quarter mil I've ever earned in one day. Also the only. But the best!

44

LowDownSkankyDude t1_iu636a4 wrote

Fuck. Yes.

Like I don't even care if it's true or not, cause that's such a fucking awesome story. LoL

16

Prestigious-Maddogg t1_iu61wek wrote

You would get letters,you would have to sign beforehand from a probate lawyer. Source:I had some guy in my family I never met and he had no kids/no will

6

taez555 t1_iu61qs7 wrote

"Hey my main man, you get big money, some of 60.000,00$$!!! You just wire us 3.000 thousand us america dollar to pay taxes and we send you big money some."

/s

But seriously, don't do that.

4

weedful_things t1_iu6tseo wrote

I discovered I had an unclaimed rebate check a few months ago. While searching, I noticed someone with the last name as I had several accounts totaling several hundred dollars. I found this person on Facebook and sent a message to them. I never got a reply and I am sure they thought it was some kind of scam. I tried though.

3

bluntmanandrobin t1_iu7ru9o wrote

119 multiplied by 60,000 is 7,140,000. That’s more than half. Most isn’t going to the government. A lot is. But not most.

5

Krypto_Kane t1_iu7drqi wrote

This is like a card you pull in MONOPOLY . Long lost Uncle dies and you get 60k inheritance. RIP

3

peon2 t1_iu6063v wrote

Do they have to stay a night in a haunted mansion? It's a pretty standard clause.

90

criticalpwnage t1_iu6vfr6 wrote

Of course, and if you manage to stay the whole night you actually get the mansion

11

bohanmyl t1_iu8181m wrote

The real haunted part is the property taxes

14

Bison256 t1_iub07te wrote

Is this a PG, PG-13 or R haunted mansion? How much physical risk a there?

3

Standard_Wooden_Door t1_iubdud3 wrote

Either that, or you have to blow half of it without having anything of value left over in order to get the other half.

1

Use_this_1 t1_iu5q3ti wrote

He must have grown up in one fucked up home, he had 6 siblings and NONE of them had children. After the taxes are taken out the 119 distant relatives will still get a nice little sum of money that they weren't expecting.

79

alixnaveh t1_iu6jdpx wrote

The kids might have had some genetic disorder or childhood exposure to some chemical that made them infertile. It's very strange that not one of the 6 had offspring.

36

Scrubatl t1_iu69uyq wrote

My name is errich Bachman . I can show you ID. That’s my face. I was a fat, but now, I’m a not fat.

30

RoboticKittenMeow t1_iu5xpuj wrote

Government - OMNOMNOMNOMNOM

25

JackMitcham t1_iu607oa wrote

I mean, the government has more of a claim to this money than random people who had never heard of him that happened to share ancestors.

I mean if we go back far enough, we're all related to him. We all share a common ancestor.

30

dogwoodcat t1_iu5py3m wrote

I wonder if he had dementia at the end, there have been a few cases where people lived frugally because they had no understanding of, or simply forgot that they had money.

13

Ionopsis t1_iu6863m wrote

Being adopted I am always scared that I'm going to be hunted down and forced to pay for my parents debts even though they live in Korea and I'm in the US.

9

bbhilt t1_iu6no85 wrote

Can someone explain? I see people mentioning taxes but this is below the exemption amount for estate taxes.

3

poe_todd t1_iu6swlk wrote

The man died in 2016. The estate exemption was about $5.5 million.

9

Yalay t1_iu6rsd0 wrote

Estate taxes are based on the size of the estate, not the size of an individual’s inheritance.

0

ayershubble t1_iu879l2 wrote

Howard Hughes died without a will or obvious heirs… pretty sure he was worth more than this guy.

2

fourfourzero t1_iu9rgj3 wrote

pretty sure there were plenty of claims to that estate.

1

Curious_Associate904 t1_iu7z7xo wrote

Fuck, that's totally my great uncle... Haven't seen him in YEARS.

1

FSUalumni t1_iu8k7up wrote

You can see if you have unclaimed funds in many states online. In Florida, the website is https://fltreasurehunt.gov. I hope some of you find some money owed to you!

1

tauntonlake t1_iu5qy8f wrote

Damn. That money could have helped some needy charities, at the very least, if you didn't want to specifically leave it to family...

I wonder what his story was.

−20

BandwagonFanAccount t1_iu61evi wrote

Government getting anything from estates is one of the biggest piles of bullshit in a country heaped full of it.

−26

Commotion t1_iu62msj wrote

How exactly is it bullshit? I don’t understand your perspective at all.

14

EducatedCynic t1_iu6310d wrote

He didn't get a payout.

12

Commotion t1_iu63b7d wrote

If he lives in the US, he did get a payout, in a sense, because the government ultimately answers to elected legislators.

2

BandwagonFanAccount t1_iu637wd wrote

The owner (that died) paid taxes on all that shit to begin with, Gvt needs to have the decency to let what that man earned get passed down instead of taking another fat slice and being a bunch of self interested greedy fucks. Little doubt they will just squander it away on some dumb shit gvt bailouts or something anyways.

−12

Commotion t1_iu63mh5 wrote

Nah, inherited generational wealth shouldn’t be immune from taxes. Just like unearned investment income shouldn’t be taxed at lower rates than earned income.

It sounds like you just hate the government.

13

[deleted] t1_iu66jfw wrote

[deleted]

0

neverdoneneverready t1_iu687b4 wrote

I believe you are taxed only if inheritance is over $1 million.

4

the_eluder t1_iu69ts6 wrote

It's over 12 million, so I don't know what taxes are being referred to in this article. I think the biggest expense the heirs have to worry about is how much the law firm in charge of distribution is going to milk them for.

5

BandwagonFanAccount t1_iu64hy4 wrote

It sounds to me, like I think paying taxes on the money you earn and the things you buy, then also continuing to pay for the continued ownership of those things is plenty. You shouldn't have to pay taxes on shit you left behind and have already spent your entire life paying taxes on.

Investment income is completely different from what I was arguing and should be taxed the same because it is still income, I'm not sure where that even entered your mind.

−6

procrasstinating t1_iu6tiou wrote

But if you gain wealth by increases in the value of investments or real estate that you hold that isn’t taxes during your lifetime if it’s not sold. And upon death the cost basis is increased to the value at death, so your heirs will inherited it and can sell it tax free. Inheritance tax would capture those gains if the value of the estate was over $12m USD for an individual or $24m for a couple.

5

BandwagonFanAccount t1_iu6u4l1 wrote

Like I said. Just another way for the gvt to take a fat slice of what people already paid for and continued to pay taxes on all their lives.

−5

procrasstinating t1_iu76pc3 wrote

And my take is that many of those people have not paid taxes on those gains. So Peter Theil valued his private company at $2000 and put the shares in an IRA. 20 years later the stock is worth $5billion and sheltered from taxes. He would never pay tax on any of that gain, except for under an estate tax.

6

fourfourzero t1_iu9rxwl wrote

lol take economics AND civics classes my dude. it will make you a lot less angry with your life.

2

BandwagonFanAccount t1_iu9u9em wrote

I enjoy my life but thank you for you for your concern. I apologize for being able to see how greedy, wasteful, and corrupt the government is.

1

DieterVawnCunth t1_iu91y1s wrote

well, no taxes were owed on the first 5-6 million.

and of all the inheritance tax cases to get upset about you choose this one? a man who didn't even bother to make a will, and 120 distant relatives who never even heard of him?

look, in a capitalist system where the richest increasingly get richer and richer, there needs to be redistribution somehow or we're going to live in an insane cyberpunk dystopia.

you like having roads? you like having public schools? you like healthcare for the elderly? you like having your American imperial military ensuring the free flow of goods from exploited laborers?

the public coffers need to be filled.

0

NPVT t1_iu6lyq1 wrote

Should be taxed 100%

−5