Legal Question in Tax Law in Texas

Re: Answer to plaintiff's petition.

This is a tough question to answer without knowing more of the facts. It's even possible you may have lost some of your rights if you haven't already protested the tax bill with the appraisal board. For example, "Where taxpayer claimed not to be the owner of property upon which delinquent taxes were due and he had not presented this fact before the appraisal review board, he has waived non-ownership as a defense to a delinquent tax suit. A taxpayer must protest the non-ownership issue before the review board. Anderson v. Robstown Independent School District, 706 S.W.2d 952 (Tex. 1986)."

If you're truly flat-out broke, that's one thing. But if you have anything to lose, I'd urge you to try to find a lawyer whose fees you can afford.

If you're determined to handle the matter yourself, then you need to learn as much as you can about the law. Here's an online starting point: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/tc04/ch33c1.htm#33.45

You might also want to try www.nolo.com -- they have a lot of do-it-yourself law books and articles. Also Findlaw might be worth looking at: http://www.findlaw.com/11stategov/tx/laws.html