What to do if the County didn’t receive taxes paid to a lawyer at closing?
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What to do if the County didn’t receive taxes paid to a lawyer at closing?
I bought a house and went to the seller’s attorney for the closing. I paid my portion of the taxes from 10/31 to the end of the year. The County now says that it never received the taxes for the whole of last year, so I have an accrued an additional charge. Wasn’t the closing attorney supposed to send the money to the county?
Asked on January 8, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the lawyer for malpractice and possibly also for conversion (a form of theft; keeping money entrusted to you, but which is not yours) for not having remitted or turned over the tax payments to the county. You can also seek any additional amounts you were found to have to pay. That is your resourse: to sue the attorney and recover the money from him.
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