You may need to help landlord find your ex

Q. I lived with my boyfriend for about a year and a half in an apartment we rented. I left with about seven months to go in the second year of our lease. We agreed that he would be totally responsible for the rent payments until the lease was up. I actually wrote something out where he promised to be responsible for the remaining rent payments and we both signed it.

He stayed one month in the apartment after I left, then moved out without informing the landlord. A few days ago, I was served with a summons and complaint from the landlord. They say I owe them six months rent plus attorneys fees. My court date is in a couple weeks.

I called the attorney for the landlord and told him about my agreement with my ex. He said that our agreement didn't matter. He said my name was on the lease, the rent wasn't paid and I owe the money.

Is this true? He is also named in the complaint but I don't know if he is around. How is it possible that this could end up being all my responsibility?

A. Sorry to say it is very possible this will end up being your responsibility. The most important thing for you at this point is to determine if your ex has been served in the case. Look at the summons you received. Your ex's name and address where they attempted to serve him should be on or attached to the summons. Contact the sheriff of the county of your ex's address and ask if he has been served. If not, ask why not. Sometimes the sheriff will indicate "moved" or some other note.

If he has been served, you would then file a "cross complaint" against him, alleging your agreement. This does not relieve you of your primary responsibility to the landlord, but presuming your ex is financially capable, and the court deems your agreement with him valid, he would be ordered to pay your share of any judgment against you.

The problem, of course, is what if he has not been served or worse, if he has left the jurisdiction. Presuming a valid lease, you could be held solely responsible for any outstanding rent.

If he has not been served, you may be in a far better position to locate him than the landlord's attorney, as you probably still have mutual acquaintances. Do whatever you can to determine where he is living and if you find him, inform the landlord's attorney so he can be served.

If you do wind up in court with the landlord, keep in mind that the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages, meaning the landlord cannot just sit on the property for the remaining term of the lease. They are required to make an active effort to rent the property. Demand they furnish proof of their efforts to find a tenant for the unit.

Q. Recently, my parents have hit some financial hardship, which has brought their credit scores very low. They own a property in Arizona that would benefit from being refinanced. Since eventually the property would be mine, my parents want to transfer the property to me now (with the least tax penalty for me.) Since the property would belong to me, then I would go ahead and refinance the property. I know what paperwork needs to be completed in California, but I'm not sure about Arizona laws. Would you be able to tell me what I need to complete to make sure that I'm not penalized for having a property transferred to me, but also making sure that the property is completely mine so I could then approach the bank and ask for refinancing?

A. My first suggestion would be to speak to a tax expert. Much depends on what your parents paid for the property and what it is worth today.

As a general rule, taking a property pursuant to an inheritance would be preferable to having the property conveyed today. The advantage of taking a property through inheritance is that generally, your tax basis in the property would be the value of the property on the date of the death of the owner(s). So, for example, if your parents bought the property years ago for $150,000 and it is worth $300,000 upon your parent's death, your basis in the property would be $300,000. You could then sell the property for $300,000 and pay no capital gain tax. This would probably not be the result if the property were conveyed to you while your parents were alive.

Of course, if the property has not significantly appreciated during your parent's ownership, the disadvantage of conveying now would be minimized. There may also be other ways to reduce or eliminate future capital gains on the property. Speak to a tax expert to more thoroughly review your situation.

• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.