Posted on: 15th Jul, 2008 12:59 am
My sister and I recently inherited our mom's home after she passed away. Neither of us has much experience dealing with such things and we need some help. We used an attorney to setup a trust and such when my mom became ill, but neither of us feel like he's really the person for the job anymore.
There's a remaining mortgage of $52k on the house, it's worth about $330k. My sister wants to buy me out on the house, and she owns a condo that may work for me.... This is where it gets fuzzy for me, I'm wondering if a deal could be worked whereby she sells me her condo for the amount it's worth minus what she owes to buy me out on the house. Not sure how estate or inheritance taxes work into this, but it would seem that if she sells me the condo at a reduced amount, that would be good for me tax-wise, and she could save the discounted amount that she would otherwise owe me. Her condo is worth about $250k and she owes about $135k.
I really can't wrap my brain around this, any help would be truly appreciated.
I think it would be best to find an attorney well versed in estates, and real estate as well. Am I on the right track here? Aside from word of mouth, (that didn't really work to well for us last time,,, :roll: ) how does one find a good attorney that charges reasonable fees and will do an excellent job (no lawyer jokes plz.) Or, do we just need a good accountant?
There's a remaining mortgage of $52k on the house, it's worth about $330k. My sister wants to buy me out on the house, and she owns a condo that may work for me.... This is where it gets fuzzy for me, I'm wondering if a deal could be worked whereby she sells me her condo for the amount it's worth minus what she owes to buy me out on the house. Not sure how estate or inheritance taxes work into this, but it would seem that if she sells me the condo at a reduced amount, that would be good for me tax-wise, and she could save the discounted amount that she would otherwise owe me. Her condo is worth about $250k and she owes about $135k.
I really can't wrap my brain around this, any help would be truly appreciated.
I think it would be best to find an attorney well versed in estates, and real estate as well. Am I on the right track here? Aside from word of mouth, (that didn't really work to well for us last time,,, :roll: ) how does one find a good attorney that charges reasonable fees and will do an excellent job (no lawyer jokes plz.) Or, do we just need a good accountant?
Welcome cobalt.
You certainly need a real estate attorney to guide you. Are you willing to quitclaim the inherited property to your sister and your sister will quitclaim her condo to you? In that case both these transfer will be considered as gift. So, both of you may have to pay the gift tax on it. But you can qualify for gift tax exemption. Check it out at http://www.mortgagefit.com/gift.html#exemption
Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any further queries.
You certainly need a real estate attorney to guide you. Are you willing to quitclaim the inherited property to your sister and your sister will quitclaim her condo to you? In that case both these transfer will be considered as gift. So, both of you may have to pay the gift tax on it. But you can qualify for gift tax exemption. Check it out at http://www.mortgagefit.com/gift.html#exemption
Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any further queries.
Contact an estate planning attorney in your area. You can check with your local county bar association referral service. You can also check with a knowledgeable accountant.
If the house is in trust, there should be no inheritence tax. The only tax considerations are on the sale/exchange of the properties. It can get complicated, but you need to worry about the capital gains tax. You may be able to do a tax-free exchange of the properties.
If the house is in trust, there should be no inheritence tax. The only tax considerations are on the sale/exchange of the properties. It can get complicated, but you need to worry about the capital gains tax. You may be able to do a tax-free exchange of the properties.
Thank you both very much for taking the time to help us, it is most appreciated.