If this was a “gift” and so was your payment a “gift”, was it more than $14,000 and did you file a gift tax?
You might only be a 1/3 owner, it will depend on how the land was titled before the gift. It may also depend on whether you live in a community property state and when and how the owner or couple acquired it. Even if the property had been owned by two people, they could have given you a half interest or any other share of ownership they wanted to. If it is not written down, then the IRS will usually assume it was 1/3 if there were two owners before hand or 1/2 if there was one owner before hand. Ideally, this would have been specified in writing at the time. Will you be dividing the proceeds in half or thirds?
You may benefit from a legal review.
