When creating your estate plan, it is important to partner with an experienced Pasadena estate planning lawyer. An attorney who is familiar with all aspects of estate planning can help you navigate this process and ensure that you stay on track with your overall goals.
It can be especially complex if you own multiple pieces of real estate and need to craft custom plans for your real property investments. There are numerous factors you need to consider when it comes to who should receive your real estate, how they will manage it, and possible tax consequences.Â
Consider the following questions as you start to think through real estate gifting:Â
- Where does your potential beneficiary currently live and how old are they will be the time of potential transfer?Â
- Do you want your trustee or estate executor to sell the real estate and instead distribute the proceeds to your beneficiaries?
- Who will be responsible for property expenses if your real estate is to remain in the family, such as upkeep and taxes? It is also important to consider who will remain responsible for this during the estate administration process.
- Do you want to allow a beneficiary to live in the property either during or after estate administration?
- Is there a current mortgage balance on the property?
- Are there other owners of the property?
One common mistake many people make is in trying to gift a home to a group of family members. What often happens is that the new owners cannot agree on how to use the property. If you pass it on to three people and one wants to sell but the other two want to manage it, this can cause serious issues and disagreements with those owners.
For more assistance with this process, set up a time to work with our Pasadena estate planning attorney.
