California Proposition 19 – Parent To Child Property Tax Transfer On An Inherited Home

California Property Tax Transfer

California Property Tax Transfer

As many Californians are aware, a home undergoes reassessment at “ current market value” if it’s transferred, inherited, sold or gifted from one party to another – and, in turn, taxes on the property often increase significantly providing additional revenue to the city and county they are located in. If the sale or transfer is between parent and child, in certain situations, the home won’t undergo reassessment once specific requirements are met and the application to avoid reassessment is filed properly. It is highly recommended that a trust and estate attorney or California property tax consultant are used to advise you in this situation.

California Proposition 58 is established in section 63.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and has been modified by California Proposition 19 in 2021. The below bullet points may untangle some of the confusion that has formed around some of the Prop 19 property tax breaks.  We need to take note that property tax relief limitations built into Proposition 19 are presently serving as a replacement to the pre-Feb 2021 Proposition 58  parent-to-child exclusion, also referred to as a “parent-child exemption” which protect the child inheriting a home from a parent from property tax reassessment.

• Proposition 19 was more or less rushed through the political and electoral process, passed by the CA Legislature and placed onto the November 2020 ballot. Homeowners’ ability to transfer parents property taxes, in other words the right to keep parents property taxes on any parental property tax transfer, inheriting property taxes from Dad or Mom and enabling heirs to keep parents property taxes are sill in place as valid tax breaks, allowing beneficiaries or heirs to avoid property tax reassessment – the process is just more limited than it was previously.

• Establishing a low property tax base along with the transfer of property between siblings, sibling-to-sibling property transfer – buying out a sibling’s share of inherited property through a trust loan, in conjunction with Prop 58, is still in place, however inheriting property taxes from a parent has been limited in some circumstances by Proposition 19. Still the majority of children can receive a full property tax transfer from a parent on an inherited home.

• Sections of the approved California Proposition 19 documentation and revisions to various sections are vague. To correct these issues, Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone was appointed by the California Assessors’ Association (CAA), with four other tax Assessors, to a CAA “committee” to provide clarity to the new Proposition 19 implementation process. The CAA committee has enlisted specialists and tax lawyers throughout California, and is working with the Board of Equalization (BOE) to furnish guidance and where necessary recommend passage, on an urgency basis, towards implementing appropriate statutes.

• Only inherited properties used as primary homes or farms would be eligible for the property tax transfer. Those who are “severely disabled”, or whose homes were destroyed by wildfire or a “natural disaster” can now transfer their primary residence’s property tax base value to a replacement residence of any value, anywhere in the state.

• Eligible homeowners can now take advantage of “special rules” to move to a more expensive home. Their property tax bill would still go up but not by as much as it would be for home buyers that are “not eligible”.

A claim form must now, as of Feb 2021, be completed and signed by the transferors and transferee and filed with the Assessor. A claim has to be filed  within three years after the date of purchase or transfer, or prior to the transfer of the real estate to a third party, whichever is earlier.

If a claim form has not been filed by the date specified above it will be timely if filed within six months after the date of mailing of the notice of supplemental or escape assessment for this property. If a claim is not timely filed the exclusion will be granted beginning with the calendar year in which you file your claim.

If you have questions regarding California Proposition 19, Prop 58 and the benefit that you may be entitled to, please call us at 877-464-1066. We can help you determine if a loan to a trust is needed for you to receive your benefit and how much you might be able to save in property taxes by keeping a parents low property tax base on an inherited home.

Irrevocable Trust Loans

Lending to an Irrevocable Trust

Lending to an Irrevocable Trust

Commercial Loan Corporation is one of only a few California lenders that will lend directly to an irrevocable trust. So what is an irrevocable trust?

An irrevocable trust is a type of trust where its terms cannot be modified, amended or terminated under most conditions. Often times, an irrevocable trust will begin as a living trust and once the grantor passes, will turn into an irrevocable trust. An irrevocable trust designates a trustee and beneficiary(s). The trustee is the person who manages the trust and may also be one of the beneficiaries. An irrevocable trust is commonly used to pass assets to heirs while avoiding probate. When you transfer your assets into an irrevocable trust, you relinquish control of those assets. The trust becomes the owner of the assets at that point.

The reason why most lenders will not lend directly to an irrevocable trust is because the trust is the owner of the assets, as opposed to an individual. This become important when a child is inheriting a home from a parent and would like to use Prop 58, or Prop 19 to keep a parents low property tax base. The California Board of Equalization requires and equal distribution of assets be made when multiple beneficiaries are involved unless specific conditions are met. If there are not sufficient cash assets in the trust to make an equal distribution, then a loan against real estate in the trust will be needed to qualify for the parent to child transfer to avoid property tax reassessment.

That is where Commercial Loan Corporation comes into play. We specialize in lending to trusts and estates; specifically irrevocable trusts.  Our trust loans, allow one child to keep an inherited home with the parents low Prop 13 tax base in tact, while the other child beneficiaries receive an equal portion of cash. Everybody wins! By avoiding expensive realtor fees, each beneficiary on average receives and additional $15,000 in inheritance and the child keeping the family home saves on average $6,200 per year in property taxes.

If you, a family member or a client may be able to benefit from a trust loan, we are here to assist you and answer any questions you might have.  Please call us at 877-464-1066.

Join Us at the 2020 USC Gould Trust & Estate Conference

USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference

USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference

Please join us this November 13th for the Virtual 46th Annual USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference. We are sponsoring the event again this year and will be available to answer any questions you have on Lending to an Irrevocable Trust or Probate Estate. Our loans assist clients in qualifying for the California Prop 58 Parent to Child Exclusion from Property Tax Reassessment on an inherited home.

Tanis Alonso, one of our Trust & Estate Loan Senior Account Executives will be available for Zoom meetings during the Conference or available by phone at (877) 464-1066 to assist you and provide you with more information on our specialized lending programs. Commercial Loan Corporations is one of the only lenders in California who will lend to an Irrevocable Trusts, allowing our clients to meet the California Board of Equalization requirements to qualify for their Exclusion from Reassessment.

If you are interested in attending this years USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference, please visit their website here for more details: Trust & Estate Conference – Los Angeles

This years USC Gould Trust & Estate Conference Features Information on the following

Keynote Presentation: Bending the Arc of History with Terrence Franklin
Practical Topics: Annual Updates, Trustee and Beneficiary Harmony, Anti-SLAPP, Divorce, Stretching Retirement Savings, and Sub-Trust Allocations
CE Credit: MCLE, CPE, CFP, PFB, and CTFA (Pending)

8:30 AM – 8:35 AM (PST)
Welcome and Introductions
8:35 AM – 10:05 AM (PST)
Annual Update: Recent Developments in Probate and Trust and their Practical Applications
10:05 AM – 10:20 AM (PST)
Break Sponsored by Professional Fiduciary Association of California
10:20 AM – 11:20 AM (PST)
Love in the Time of COVID-19: Trustee and Beneficiary Harmony in Years Like 2020
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (PST)
No-Contest Clauses and the Anti-SLAPP Statute: Traps for the Unwary
12:40 PM – 1:20 PM (PST)
Keynote Presentation Sponsored by Signature Resolution: Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice in the Probate Court
1:20 PM – 1:40 PM (PST)
Break Sponsored by Jack Barcal, Esq.
1:40 PM – 2:40 PM (PST)
Tales from the Dark Side: HELP, My Client Is Getting Divorced (or Married, or Remarried). What Do I Do?
2:50 PM – 3:50 PM (PST)
How to Stretch Retirement Savings with a CRUT
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (PST)
Better Late Than Never? The Looming Implications of Late Allocations to Sub-Trusts

For more information on our loans to irrevocable trusts and probate estates, please call us at 877-464-1066. We can provide you or your client with a free cost benefit analysis and let them know exactly how much property saving can be attained by taking advantage of a parent to child property transfer and exclusion from property tax reassessment.

California Proposition 13 & Proposition 58

California Proposition 58 and Proposition 13

California Proposition 58 and Proposition 13

Recently there has been debate in California if Proposition 13 and Proposition 58 still make sense. Without hesitation, the answer is yes. In June of 1978, California voters passed Proposition 13 with 65% of the total vote. Still, to this day, interestingly enough, 65% of “likely voters” in California still support the Proposition 13 this tax relief initiative.

California Prop 13 stabilized property taxes for Californians and gave a great incentive that encouraged Californian’s to become homeowners. The Proposition 13 tax break made property tax increases more affordable by limiting them to a maximum of 2% annually. Californians are fortunate enough to still be benefiting from this same formula 42 years later.

Proposition 58 works in conjunction with Proposition 13. Prop 58 allows a parent to transfer their Proposition 13 protected property tax base to a child. This is especially important when a child inherits a home from a parent. Prop 58 allows the child to inherit the home without having the property taxes reassessed, saving potentially thousands of dollars annually. This can make a home that may otherwise be unaffordable for the child, now affordable.

What is Proposition 58?

What is Proposition 58?

What is Proposition 58?

California Proposition 58

In the State of California, real estate is typically reassessed at market value when it is sold or transferred. As a result, property taxes may increase dramatically due to the new higher assessment value. Prop 58 or Proposition 58 is a California Proposition that with limitations, grants the ability to avoid property reassessment on real estate inherited from a parent in California. With the passage of Proposition 58 in 1986, if the sale or transfer of real estate is between a parent and their child, under some circumstances, the property will not be reassessed if all Board of Equalization conditions are met and the application for exclusion is filed in a appropriate amount of time.

Proposition 58 allows the child who is inheriting the home to avoid property tax reassessment when acquiring property from their parents. The child’s taxes are instead calculated on the parents established Proposition 13 factored base year value, instead of the current market value when the property is acquired.

In some cases in order to qualify for California Proposition 58, when the home is being inherited via a trust or an estate and multiple child beneficiaries are involved, an equal distribution of assets must be made. That is where Commercial Loan Corporation comes in. Commercial Loan Corporation provides third party mortgages to trusts and estates with no personal guarantee required from the acquiring beneficiary or heir. Our trust loan or probate loan provides cash to the beneficiaries who are not inheriting the home and allows the child who is inheriting the home to keep the property and meet one of the key Proposition 58 qualification requirements.  On average we help our clients save over six thousand dollars a year in property taxes in addition to eliminating the need to sell the home. This speeds up the distribution process and saves on costly realtor fees.

If you or a client needs a distribution loan to take advantage of California Proposition 58, please call 877-464-1066. We can provide you with a free cost benefit analysis and let you know how much you may be able to save by taking advantage of your Prop 58 property tax benefits.

Apply Online for a Proposition 58 loan: Click Here

California Proposition 58 information found at californiaproposition58.org

PROPOSITION 58 – CALIFORNIA REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE SECTION 63.1: PARENT-CHILD TRANSFERS

California Proposition 58 Parent to Child Transfer

California Proposition 58 Parent to Child Transfer

California Proposition 58 – Transferring Real Estate & Property Tax Base From A Parent To A Child & The Need For A Loan To Equalize A Transfer. 

On November 4, 1986, the voters of California adopted Proposition 58, which added
subdivision (h) to section 2 of article XIII A of the California Constitution. Subdivision H provides that “purchase” and “change in ownership” do not include the purchase or transfer of a principal residences between parents and children, and that the first one million dollars of the full cash value of all other real property (other than principal residences) between parents and children. Section 63.1 was added to the Revenue and Taxation Code 1 to implement the parent-child exclusion provisions of California Proposition 58 and applies to any purchases or transfers between parents and children that occur on or after November 6, 1986.

The California Board of Equalization who administers Proposition 58 offered guidance to clarify some of the ambiguity of the law. They generated a Questions and Answers document for the California Assessors offices to help them properly handle Prop 58 requests for Parent to Child Transfers and requests to avoid property tax reassessment. California Proposition 58 allows a child to inherit a property from a parent, transferring the home and avoiding tax reassessment. This allows the child to keep the parents low Proposition 13 property tax base. One of the requirements of Prop 58 that the Board of Equalization addressed was the need for an equal distribution to be made when multiple beneficiaries are involved. This information can be found on Page 11 – Question 36 of the board of equalization question and answer document. The document can be located here.

California Proposition 58 Questions and Answers

Or at the California Board of Equalization Website – Located Here

Question 36 from the Board or Equalization addresses the following issue:

“A trust allows for non-pro rata distribution. However, the estate is composed primarily of a house and a small savings account. One child wants the real property and one 15 See Simms v. Pope (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 472, 477; Domenghini v. County of San Luis Obispo (1974) 40 Cal.App.3d 689, 695. 16 Letter To Assessors 91/08. 17 Estate of Russell (1968) 69 Cal 2d 200. Page 11 REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE SECTION 63.1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS child wants cash. To equalize distribution, can the trust encumber the real property with a loan and will the transfer of real property still qualify for the parent-child exclusion?

Answer: Yes. When a trustee has the power to distribute trust assets on a pro rata or non-pro rata basis, the distribution of real property to one child qualifies for the parent-child exclusion if the value of the property does not exceed that child’s interest in the total trust estate. A trustee who elects to make a non-pro rata distribution may equalize the value of the other beneficiaries’ interests in the trust assets by encumbering the real property with a loan and distributing the loan proceeds to the other beneficiaries.18 However, a loan cannot be made by any of the beneficiaries of the real property to the trust in order to equalize the trust interests. Such loan would be considered payment for the other beneficiaries’ interests in the real property resulting in a transfer between beneficiaries rather than a transfer from parent to child, which would disqualify the transfer from the parent-child exclusion.

This is where Commercial Loan Corporation can assist you. A conventional loan can not be used in this situation, since conventional lenders will not lend directly to a trust or estate, and the BOE requires that the loan not be made to the beneficiary but instead to the trust or estate. We are one of the only California lenders that will lend directly to a trust or estate, as opposed to a beneficiary. Our loan enables the beneficiary who is inheriting the property from a trust or estate to avoid a transfer between beneficiaries.  This helps them qualify for the Proposition 58 Parent to Child Transfer, enabling them to keep a parents low Proposition 13 tax base. Our average client saves over $6,000 a year in property taxes by taking advantage of their Prop 58 property tax benefit. We will even lend to an irrevocable trust.

If you, a family member or a client may be interested in a loan to help assist with Proposition 58, please call us at 877-464-1066 and we can assist you.

 

Join us at the 41st Annual UCLA / CEB Estate Planning Institute on 5/3/2019

Estate Planning Institute

Estate Planning Institute

Commercial Loan Corporation will be attending the 2019 – 41st Annual UCLA / CEB Estate Planning Institute at the Marriott in Marina del Ray.  If you will be attending the event please visit our Senior Account Executive, Mike Riggs at our booth.  Mike will be available to answer any questions you may have on our trust & estate loan programs; including our Proposition 58 loans that can allow for an equal distribution of a trust or estate so that a child can keep a parents low property tax base value on an inherited home. If you will not be attending the Estate Planning Institute event, but have questions on California Proposition 58, please call us at 877-464-1066 and we would be happy to assist you.

 

We Make Loans To Irrevocable Trusts Easy

California Lender for Loans to Irrevocable Trusts - The Cash You Need To Distribute A Trust

Commercial Loan Corporation is a California Lender specializing in Loans to Irrevocable Trusts. We lend the cash you need to distribute a trust and receive your proposition 58 exclusion from property tax reassessment on an inherited home.

Loans to Irrevocable Trusts in California

When it comes time to distribute an irrevocable trust and funds are needed to make an equal distribution, you will find that most lenders are unwilling to lend on real estate that is held in a trust. This becomes extremely problematic if you plan on filing for a California Proposition 58 exclusion from property tax reassessment on real estate being inherited from a parent.

One of the requirements to qualify for an exclusion from property reassessment is for the trust to make an equal distribution of the trust assets to all child beneficiaries. Often times that is not possible to do if one of the trust assets is an expensive piece of California real estate. In the situation where a home is creating an unequal trust distribution, a mortgage or third party loan must be taken out to infuse the trust with enough cash so that the equal distribution can be made. That way one child receives the encumbered property while others receive cash and or other assets, equalizing the distribution of the trust. The state does not allow for the acquiring beneficiary to use their own funds to equalize the distribution. Doing so would create a sibling to sibling buyout and make the beneficiary ineligible for an exclusion from reassessment. That is why a third party loan is required. The problem is that most California lenders will require that the property be removed from the trust in order to lend on the home. Unfortunately, once that is done, you have jeopardized your ability to qualify for the Prop 58 property tax reassessment exclusion since the assets of the trust were distributed unevenly at that point.

The solution is to have a mortgage placed on the home while the property is still held in the irrevocable trust. That is where Commercial Loan Corporation comes in. We are a leading California lender of mortgages for homes held in an irrevocable trust. What makes us unique is that we lend to the trust as opposed to a beneficiary; allowing the beneficiary to qualify for the California Proposition 58 exclusion from property tax reassessment on a home inherited from a parent.

If you, a client, or someone that you know is in need of a loan to a trust, please have them call us at 877-464-1066. We specialize in the process and can answer any questions that they may have. We can also provide them with a free loan benefit proposal. The proposal compares the cost of the trust loan to the benefits received from a Prop 58 parent to child property transfer, ensuring that the trust loan is beneficial.  We can also determine how much additional funds you would receive by maximizing your trust distribution. On average we help clients distribute an additional $42,000 to beneficiaries my maximizing their trust distribution.

Call Us At 877-464-1066