Mother lives in NH. Will not be returning home. Brother has lived in home for about 14 years and did take care of her until she needed more care than he could handle. There is a mortgage on home. He pays rent to cover this expense and he pays for the utility bills. I pay what bills she has out of her banking account. So, how is property taxes to be handled?
If rent is being paid in theory the amount of rent charged SHOULD cover taxes, mortgage if any and any utilities that are not changed to the renters name.
Since this is a family thing.....My thoughts here...
If brother is paying a fair market value for the rent then is the rent enough to cover taxes? If not and he is getting a "deal" he should step up and pay the property taxes.
If he was staying there and was a caregiver and rent was reduced to compensate for that then your Moms estate (her account) should pay for the property taxes.
Another opinion though...if everyone is getting along the property taxes should be paid through Mom's account. When the property is sold and the money placed into her account it will either be used to pay for her continuing care or it will eventually be divided between heirs as instructed by her Will.