My widowed mother died eight years ago. We were both residents of Hood County, Texas. She did not leave a will. She had a small insurance policy with me named as beneficiary. We had a savings account together with rights of survivorship. I am her only child. Because there were no other assets I did not file probate. I have since moved to Arizona.

Two years ago I started getting a bill for back taxes on a small, worthless lot she owned in Calhoun County, Texas. I was not aware of this lot until I started getting the notices that they were going to foreclose and auction the property for back taxes. I never responded because I didn't care about the property and since I never probated mother's will I didn't feel that the property was legally mine anyway. Now I have received notice that I am being sued for back taxes and legal fees. Do I have to respond or is this just part of the foreclosure process prior to auctioning the property?

You can merely not pay, ( and do not contact them) and let the property be sold for taxes.

First life insurance with you as beneficiary does not go into an estate, so that is not even an issue in this.

The issue of probate would depend on what property and what money or bank accounts there was.

Normally in probate all bills are paid from money in estate, before it is given out to hiers.

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Originally Posted by swkaiser

... Now I have received notice that I am being sued for back taxes and legal fees. ...

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If you will read the complaint, it should specify why you are named as a defendant. It is very likely that you are being sued "in rem". In other words, you are named a so as to give you a right to assert any interest you might claim in the property, but will not be personally liable. You might want to consult with an attorney to be sure, who will want to be able to see the papers themselves to be certain.

But no, you don't owe this. They can sell the land for the taxes, but that's all they can do.