A quickie question

[legalese]

Connecticut

My mom had a stroke a few weeks ago. We have a living trust. Since I control the trust can I sell one of her houses? ( the money will go to pay for her care, hopefully she will get better but I think it will take time. . She is alive but incapacitated so was not sure if I can do this.

 

[Zigner]

Connecticut

My mom had a stroke a few weeks ago. We have a living trust. Since I control the trust can I sell one of her houses? ( the money will go to pay for her care, hopefully she will get better but I think it will take time. . She is alive but incapacitated so was not sure if I can do this.

You will want to refer to her trust document. I would suggest that you consult with a local attorney if things are not clear.

 

[curb1]

Is the house titled as being owned by the trust? If it is, it should be no problem with selling the house if the wording in the trust allows. Pay attention to the involved capital gains and depreciation recapture. You should run this by a CPA.

 

[LdiJ]

Is the house titled as being owned by the trust? If it is, it should be no problem with selling the house if the wording in the trust allows. Pay attention to the involved capital gains and depreciation recapture. You should run this by a CPA.

I agree that it needs to be run by a tax professional. However, unless a CPA specializes in individual tax, they are not necessary the best person to run it by. It would kind of be like hiring a cardiac surgeon to put in a couple of stitches in your arm, or hiring a cardiac surgeon to do plastic surgery. Either its way overkill or the wrong specialization.

 

[legalese]

Thanks for good advice.