@Anonymous_ wrote:
@jumicircle wrote:
I think I have the perfect answer to this problem/dilemma. Place the property into a trust with you as beneficiary. It is a very simple process and will solve the "gift" issue entirely.
Sorry, that will not work. If the trust is a typical revocable trust, as soon as the property is placed into the trust it is considered to be a gift to the beneficiary(ies) (assuming the beneficiary is not also the grantor).
@Anonymous_ Are you absolutely sure that putting your house into a revocable trust is considered a gift? My reading seems to imply it is not, because you still are in control of the trust while you are living (i.e., it is revocable) so it can't be a gift. When you die, the trust becomes irrevocable, and the house gets a step-up basis. One of the main reasons people put their assets into a revocable trust is so the heirs can avoid the probate process. My acquaintance who has farm land that her mother had in trust now has to deal with what to do with it; she is now the successor trustee and a beneficiary. One of the other beneficiaries wants it split and out of the trust, which is when most recently I heard the term "quit claim deed".
