Will they take my homestead status? Will I get into trouble or have a fine?

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I took care of my family through my youth and they died in my early 20's. I lost my dad in 2004 and then my mom is Oct 2007 (I was 23). When my mom was sick, a notary filed a life estate adding my name. After mom passed, I went to property appraisers office & gave them mom's death certificate & I asked if I needed to do anything for the taxes. The women said that all prior exemptions would be removed due to my name being placed as primary on the property & I would have to re-apply and pay the full price the first year. I did so.
Year after year, the office has sent these little white cards...I honestly didn't understand what they were for & so I threw them out & just paid for the tax bill. This year my fiance open the white card and said that it I had a $500 Disability Exemption & that the card said that you were suppose to report if you NO LONGER were eligible for the exemption. I had no clue. It states that failure to report this results in possible loss of your homestead, and the property appraiser will look back the past 10 years and take the back tax, 15% annum interest, and 50% of the taxes exempted. I am freaking out. I don't have any money.

3 Attorney Answers

Best Answer
It's very possible that you are going to lose your homestead exemption for not doing what was required. You need to hire a lawyer or go to legal aid ASAP.
Best Answer
While it is not clear from your posting whether you filed for homestead exemption for yourself, it is likely that you will owe some back taxes. You should consult an experienced real estate lawyer in your area to review your documents and help you sort out the situation.
Best Answer
You may have to pay, but depending upon the value of the property it may not be much. Since the other exemptions were removed, you might be able to get the property appraiser to forgive any balance because it based upon what you said, it was their mistake initially, but don't count on it. They might also have a payment plan. You will need to do some hard work yourself if you cannot afford a lawyer, or hire one.

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