united-states real-estate search-and-seizure tax-law
If I owe state taxes, can the state seize a relative&#39;s property in retaliation?
<p>I live in the United States and I owe taxes to the state, which I'm not able to pay. I don't have a permanent residence and live with family/friends.</p>
<p>One of my family members received a letter stating their property will be seized. They don't have any financial affiliation with me. Is it possible for the state to seize someone's property if I lived there — even though they have no financial affiliation with me?</p>

<p>The government cannot seize property because a person residing at that property has a tax debt: the debtor has to have a legal interest in the property, which you say you don't have. The government <em>can</em> seize property under the practice of civil forfeiture, which is a legal dispute between law enforcement and property – the simplest way to put it is that the property itself has &quot;done wrong&quot; (is involved in illegal activity). That's not what tax debt is.</p>
<p>It <em>is</em> possible for the state to seize property in error, so just because the state makes a mistake somehow does not mean that the state cannot file the paperwork and seize the property if the owners ignore the summons.</p>
