QUESTION
re: trust or just quitclaim deed for house
Asked on Oct 22nd, 2013 on Trusts and Estates - California
More details to this question:
My Mother is 94 years old and I am needing to know if a trust, a will , or simply just quitclaim the house to me, or place me on the deed vested in mother and son as joint tenants or as tenants in common. I am in California. All that she has is her bank accounts where she already established with the bank my being POD upon her death of her bank accounts. Beside those accounts she has only a house that is free and clear of any encumberances. What is the best choice. We have no other party to name as trustee since I am her only living child, my wife, son and stepson. I need to do this while she is still competent to make choice.
1 ANSWER
Generally speaking it's best for mom to have a trust and put all her assets into it. A POD does not give you legal access to her bank accounts if she becomes incapacitated and banks don't always honor power of attorney forms unless it's their bank specific form. Passing a house by joint tenancy has problems in that you lose 1/2 of the step in basis for capital gains purposes. This can create a huge tax when the house is sold after death. The capital gains tax could be far more than the cost of a living trust. I would hire an estate planning attorney today to talk about a trust!
Answered on Oct 24th, 2013 at 10:32 AM