Don’t Add your child’s name to your Deed

Before you add your child’s name to the Deed of your home, read the following

Its’ sad but it’s true, many well-intended but ill-advised homeowners add the name of a child to their Quit Claim or Grant Deed only to discover the undesirable consequences when it’s too late.

When you add your child’s name to the Quit Claim or Grant Deed of your home, there may be severe and often irreversible tax and liability consequences.

For instance, you may unintentionally cause:

1. A property Tax reassessment levied by the County Tax Assessor (Propositions 13 and 19); your property taxes may go up and stay up
2. Filing a Gift Tax returns with the IRS;
3. Judgment lien on your property in case of injury caused by a car accident involving the joint-owner child;
4. Giving up the Step-up in basis shielding accumulated capital appreciations from future capital gains Tax liability due upon sale.
5. Liens on your Deed arising from your joint-owner child’s filing of Bankruptcy
6. Community Property claims from your joint-owner child’s spouse

The good news is it may not be too late to still claim a property tax exemption or file for a rescission of your misguided transfer.

There are many probate-free ways to allow your child to inherit your property without incurring these severe adverse consequences.

Find the Quit Claim Deed or Grant Deed to your home or property and contact our law office for advice.