property transfer

[pacofms]

My wife and I have owned our home for 20 years.  I wan to remove my name out of the dee  and leave her as the sole owner there is no money involve in the transfer of the title. I need to know if there are any tax consequences or liability as result. The property is located in New York Queens county, and is our primary residence  

[Anonymous_]

You really should seek a consultation with local legal counsel. You will need to have a quitclaim deed prepared and properly recorded in any event and any lienholder(s) (e.g., mortgage lender(s)) may need to be contacted.

https://www.avvo.com/real-estate-lawyer.html

There should be no federal income tax (or gift tax) consequences with respect to a title transfer to your wife, but there are other issues that should be taken into consideration.

One issue might be an individual's financial condition. Attempts, for example, to make a party judgment proof rarely work out well nor do attempts to evade future creditors (both of which may come within the purview of the fraudulent conveyances act).

[Opus 17]

There are no tax consequences to gifts given between spouses (you are essentially giving your spouse half the house).  This will not affect your income taxes now, and will not affect the capital gains position if and when you sell.  (You will still be allowed a $500,000 capital gains exclusion if you file jointly, since marriage imparts ownership for tax purposes.)

For all other questions, consult an attorney.  @Anonymous_ guesses at some of the reasons you might want to do this, but you may have a different reason, and you could find yourself in a bad position if you don't have this reviewed by a legal professional who understands what you want to do but also why. 

[Anonymous_]

It should be clear to anyone reading my initial post that @pacofms should consult a local attorney for this matter.

The statement at the end of my post was nothing more than a statement of fact, as an example, and was not intended to imply (or speculate) that the transfer from @pacofms to the spouse was for a nefarious purpose.

[Opus 17]

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@Anonymous_ wrote:

It should be clear to anyone reading my initial post that @pacofms should consult a local attorney for this matter.

The statement at the end of my post was nothing more than a statement of fact, as an example, and was not intended to imply (or speculate) that the transfer from @pacofms to the spouse was for a nefarious purpose.

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That wasn't what I was suggesting at all.  There are a lot of reasons not related to bad intentions, why you might want to change ownership of property, that still result in bad outcomes due to misunderstanding the laws.  (Such as, wanting to protect an asset in case someone needs expensive medical care, or wanting to avoid probate in case of a spouse with a serious illness.)

[Anonymous_]

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@Opus 17 wrote:
.....There are a lot of reasons not related to bad intentions, why you might want to change ownership of property, that still result in bad outcomes due to misunderstanding the laws.

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Yes, I am sort of aware of that little factoid since I am a lawyer (primarily retired at this point).

Thanks for the information, though.