Q: When filling out reassessment exclusion for parent/ child who would the seller/transferor be?
House was inherited from my mothers trust. I am trustee and beneficiary. Not sure if transferor should be my mother, the trust, or myself as trustee.
A:
Under California property tax law, the parent-child exclusion allows the transfer of a primary residence (and up to $1 million of assessed value of other real property) between parents and children without triggering a reassessment of the property value for property tax purposes.
In your case, the transferor would likely be your mother's trust. When a property is held in a trust and the trust creator (your mother) passes away, the property is typically transferred from the trust to the beneficiaries according to the terms of the trust.
So, on the reassessment exclusion form, you would likely list your mother's trust as the transferor/seller, and yourself (as the beneficiary of the trust) as the transferee/buyer.
However, it's always best to consult with a legal professional or a tax advisor who specializes in trust and estate matters to ensure that you fill out the form correctly based on your specific situation. They can review the trust documents and provide guidance on how to proceed with the reassessment exclusion process.
A: Two things: (1) Proposition 19 completely changed the property tax laws so the overwhelming majority of real estate in California will be reassessed to current value -- meaning property taxes will go up substantially in many cases -- so it isn't automatically true that the parent-child exclusion applies to all transfers of property between a parent and a child. (2) The answer to your question depends on how the property was titled BEFORE the parent passed away. County Recorders and Assessors are very picky about how title needs to be transferred and a new deed must exactly match the most recently-recorded deed. If there's a typo in the most recently-recorded deed, that typo MUST be in the next deed recorded. If the property was not in the parents' trust or joint tenancy on the date of death, you will need to file a Petition in the Probate Court in order to transfer it. The process is a bit more complicated than it initially appears. Sorry about that! [Don't shoot the messenger!] : )
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