My ex wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer in Dec. 2014 and is now in hospice care. We have one adult son who is homeless and financially irresponsible. My ex transferred her investment savings of $147,000 to my account. She wants me to get him some needed medical and dental care as well as to build him a small home on a piece of property I own, so he will always have a home.

I am concerned about what the tax implications will be and how I could best handle this situation to minimize any loss to taxes. Your advice would be appreciated.

no worry no tax obligation on the inherited money from your ex;basically, there are two types of taxes that are potentially levied when someone dies: estate taxes charged against the decedent's assets, and inheritance taxes charged against the heirs who receive the money. The federal government does not have an inheritance tax. The irs imposes a tax on the decedent's estate not on the heirs and only if it exceeds a certain amount. With the estate tax exemption over I guess, $5.45 million as of 2014,so, most estates won't owe any federal estate tax; regarding inheritance tax, it varies from state to state however, unless its amount is or exceeds $1 million/$2 million, no tax’d be imposed. as you inherited money from your spouse, you don't owe inheritance taxes in any state