brother in law filed

[moosedrool]

My brother in law filed against the business where my husband and I thought ( ) we were part owners of.
The only money the company owes is to us and penalty and interest to the IRS on back trust taxes.
My question is,
I show in the books since the company started, "1973"
the business bought land,for the purpose of setting the company up on, but the brother put it in his and his wifes name only. The company has always paid the taxes, and claimed it on the corporate 1120 and SBT returns.
Is it a company asset or not?

[HHM]

Sounds like you might have bigger problems then just this.

However, do you want the asset to be a company asset or not. I think you can make a pretty good argument that it is a company asset, but if you don't want it to be an asset, then just let things be.

[moosedrool]

asset

Yes,
He owes me too much money to walk away.
I even have a morgage on my home for the business.
And now he wants to walk away and not pay us a dime.
Long story short,
He said I either pay him a wage monthly (he has not worked for 3 years here)
or he files.
What makes it the hardest,
it's my husbands twin brother.
Thats a kick hun?

[HHM]

If this goes south, this is going to be a documentation night-mare (where is your husband in all of this). If you have good documentation of money loaned to the company etc, then it should work out. However, you probably would not be posting here if you had good documentation.

Basically, you need to find yourself a good lawyer and be ready to shell out about $10,000-$15,000 in legal fees to fight this.

However, beyond showing that the land is a company asset, you would be better off if you could prove you loaned money to the company to purchase the land and thereby become a secured creditor and thus a priority creditor. As a result, if the land is liquidated in the BK (assuming you prove the land is owned by the company), then you get paid first from the proceeds.

However, given how long ago this may have happened, you might be out of luck. My guess is, the land was not titled in the company's name, and so many years have gone by, the BIL, may have an good adverse possession claim to the land.

In any event, there seem to be a lot of issues here, nothing like money to get between a family.

[moosedrool]

Oh, I got the documentatuon alright.
Hubby is in la la land.
Thinks right always wins.
HA !
I have a UCC filing lein on the business.
But the IRS has presidence.
I have had 3 different lawyers look at this and tell me three different things.
I found you today,
and crossed my fingers and eyes for good measure.
Please note humor is still in tackt.
Guess I am willing to try anything at this point short of getting a hunting permit for humans.

[HHM]

This may end up more a strategic issue then a legal one. Does the BIL have money. Business bankruptcy's are not quite as cheap as personal BK's. Maybe all you need to do is call his bluff. Perhaps a BK is not such a bad idea. When it comes to businesses, you, as a creditor, can force the company to file BK. Certainly, the IRS issue complicates matters and they get paid first, and shareholders may be stuck with the bill if the assets of the company are not enough to pay the IRS. Aside from the land, does the corporation have any other assets?

Perhaps, why not preempt the issue by filing suit against the company (assuming there are grounds too). I do think you can probably prove the land is the companies, if the company has been declaring it on its taxes, it will be pretty hard for the BIL to rebut that argument.

Unfortunately, these situations are complex, too complex for a public bankruptcy forum that focuses more on personal BK, and less on business BK.

In any event, good luck. Your situation will probably take some time to work out. I'd be curious to know how it ultimately comes out, so I hope you remember to come back and post here.

[moosedrool]

Thank you for your help.
I will keep you posted with the outcome.
But you can bet your slippers one thing,
don't write a check with your mouth that your butt can't cash.
We will see how he likes playing with me.
If I loose, He will too.
Missery loves company don't yah know.
Thanks again.

[SinkingFast]

HHM isn't kidding about the costs of a Legal bout. To go after BIL, defend yourself, or persue BIL as a Creditor in BK.

YEARS ago,....... as in 20 years ago,....... We tried to sell a house. The buyers backed out so we opted not to refund their Earnest Money/Good Faith Money deposit of $1000.

They sued us to get the $1K back. We hired an attny to defend ourselves.

Motion, Counter Motion, back and forth.

Finally, a year later, we agreed to settle and split the Earnest Money deposit 50:50. We paid $1500 to get back $500.

Make sure it's worth it before you decide to Tango. It's not just the financial costs. Legal actions tie up your life too.