Legal fees are generally not deductible. There
are two significant exceptions
- Legal fees are deductible if
incurred to determine or collect any tax liability.
- Legal fees are deductible if the
suit is to secure taxable income.
Because of those
criteria, your legal fees would not be deductible.
Legal fees to evict his friend would not be deductible by you. They may be deductible by the Estate but if so, they would be deducted on the Estate's income tax return (form 1041) if required to file one.
