property title

What is the name of your state? California
My Mother, a widow, wants to add me to her home title to avoid hassles upon her death. What is the best way to do this without incurring taxes and/or other costs.
Thank you

wolfdale said:

What is the name of your state? California
My Mother, a widow, wants to add me to her home title to avoid hassles upon her death. What is the best way to do this without incurring taxes and/or other costs.
Thank you

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My response:

How long has she owned the house?

IAAL

My further response:

Is this too difficult of a question for you?

IAAL

Beneficiary Deed???????

In Arizona we have a, "Beneficiary Deed," thats allows one to leave real property to a beneficiary upon ones death. I realize that you are governed by CA law but maybe your state has a similiar statute. As an alternative resource your state attorney general office's web site may address this matter in general.

She has owned the house fifty years. It is free of liens. My brother passed away a few weeks ago. She does not want his first wife of children from that marraige to have any claim in the event of her death. Again, we reside in California.

wolfdale said:

She has owned the house fifty years. It is free of liens. My brother passed away a few weeks ago. She does not want his first wife of children from that marraige to have any claim in the event of her death. Again, we reside in California.

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Then why doesn't she deed the remaining hiers the property and withhold a 'life estate'.

Problem solved.

Thank you. I assume a life estate is some type of legal form we can obtain and complete?

wolfdale said:

Thank you. I assume a life estate is some type of legal form we can obtain and complete?

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Let's hope IAAL returns...deeding a house in CA is not (naturally) as straightforward as in the other 49.

There are lots of tax implications, none of which I know but Liab does....

seniorjudge said:

Let's hope IAAL returns...deeding a house in CA is not (naturally) as straightforward as in the other 49.

There are lots of tax implications, none of which I know but Liab does....

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My response:

And you're so right, SJ. I waited patiently for our original writer to answer my question and, when he didn't come back, I figured he didn't care. So, I moved on to other people's problems.

But, since you hit the nail on the head, our writer is thinking of changing the "title character" of the house PRIOR to the owner's death. If he does that, the current owner's Proposition 13 tax abatement will vanish, causing the property to be reassessed - - big time. This causes the property tax to rise from only a few hundred dollars per year, to many thousands of dollars per year.

When a death occurs, however, the Proposition 13 tax abatement is passed down to the heir(s) without any increase in the base tax year of 1978, and remains increasing by only 2% per year - - rather than taking a huge leap.

Think very carefully about changing the title of the house in the manner you're attempting. Weigh the pros and cons, when compared to your actual situation and reasons for this title change. You should also consult a tax advisor about this too.

IAAL

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:

My response:

And you're so right, SJ. I waited patiently for our original writer to answer my question and, when he didn't come back, I figured he didn't care. So, I moved on to other people's problems.

But, since you hit the nail on the head, our writer is thinking of changing the "title character" of the house PRIOR to the owner's death. If he does that, the current owner's Proposition 13 tax abatement will vanish, causing the property to be reassessed - - big time. This causes the property tax to rise from only a few hundred dollars per year, to many thousands of dollars per year.

When a death occurs, however, the Proposition 13 tax abatement is passed down to the heir(s) without any increase in the base tax year of 1978, and remains increasing by only 2% per year - - rather than taking a huge leap.

Think very carefully about changing the title of the house in the manner you're attempting. Weigh the pros and cons, when compared to your actual situation and reasons for this title change. You should also consult a tax advisor about this too.

IAAL

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I am completely out of my element here, but I noticed this thread because I've recently gone through something similar. I just wanted to point out that the OP was asking about ADDING their name to the Deed of the house, not necessarily changing the title over from one name to the other.

I know nothing about California, but in Wisconsin you can have someone's name added to the title and give them survivorship rights. Can the OP do something similar in California? Maybe I'm just misunderstanding and this is what you just said. I guess I don't know the meaning of changing the "title character."

If I am misunderstanding, go ahead and yell. I can take it (I hope). Just please notice the flawlessness in my spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.

Veronica1228 said:

... I just wanted to point out that the OP was asking about ADDING their name to the Deed of the house, not necessarily changing the title over from one name to the other....

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That's defined as a transfer of title anywhere in the world....

seniorjudge said:

That's defined as a transfer of title anywhere in the world....

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See? I warned you that I didn't know what the heck I was talking about! I know, then next time don't post.

Lesson learned!!!