Step Tax and Estate Planning Annual Institute 2024

Step Tax and Estate Planning Annual Institute 2024

Step Tax and Estate Planning Annual Institute 2024

Commercial Loan Corporation is proud to sponsor the Step 2024, 12th Annual Institute on Tax, Estate Planning and World Economy. This years event will take place at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, California from February 15th-17th, 2024. If you are interested in attending, you can visit the Step OC website here.

The following information on the event was located on the Step Orange County website. Time to begin thinking about STEP Orange County’s Annual Institute on Tax, Estate Planning, and the World Economy!  With the best speakers in the industry coming to Newport Beach from all over the world, and a third-day featuring material that will be of particular interest to practitioners seeking ethics and bias credits. The material is more relevant than ever, and will be delivered in multiple language channels through technology.

We also moved the Institute to a new facility – the fantabulous Balboa Bay Club Resort, right on Newport’s Harbor! As we are at such a beautiful facility near so many fantastic things to see and do, it would be a crime to not take advantage, so we are actually injecting FUN into the conference. There will be Duffy rides, special dinners, local attractions for our out-of-town attendees (and locals too), and maybe even a special Key Note Speaker, who may or may not be in the financial services industry.

Conference program includes:

· Hot Topics – 2024 Estate, Gift and GST updates with Andy Katzenstein
· Advanced Generation Skipping Tax Issues
· International Estate Administration
· US-UK Estate Planning
· US-China Estate Planning
· US-LATAM Estate Planning
· Corporate Transparency Act
· Modern Families and Trusts

Two of our Senior Trust & Estate Loan Account Executives, Tanis Kluever and Thaddeus Farrell will be attending the event. If you have any questions on a trust or estate loan they would be more than happy to assist you. If you have any question on our specialized loans to trusts and estates but are unable to attend this years estate planning event, please contact us at (877) 464-1066.

USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference 2023

USC Gould Trust and Estate 2023 Conference

The 2023 USC Gould Trust and Estate Conference

The 49th Annual Trust and Estate Conference will take place on Friday, November 17, 2023, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Commercial Loan Corporation will once again be sponsoring the event. Two of our Senior Account Executives, Tanis Kluever and Thad Farrell will be attending the event and available to answer any questions you may have on California Proposition 19 and our Trust and Estate loan programs.

For 49 years, USC Gould’s Trust and Estate Conference has been delivering practical and real-life solutions from speakers with a proven track record of addressing unexpected problems in estate planning, probate, and trust administration. The Conference typically attracts over 500 participants for unrivaled networking and learning opportunities from both the speakers and your professional colleagues. The Conference is tailored for trust, estate planning, probate and elder law professionals including attorneys, paralegals, trust officers, accountants, financial institution executives, private professional fiduciaries, wealth management professionals, fiduciary officers, underwriters and insurance advisors. what’s included?

Registration includes all sessions, continental breakfast, networking breaks, luncheon presentation, continuing education credit, and print and downloadable copies of the practical Conference Syllabus, including the popular Resource Guide, a Trust and Estate Professional Directory covering Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

If you have any questions regarding a loan to a trust or estate or about qualifying for a California Proposition 19 Parent to Child Property Tax Transfer, please call us at (877) 464-1066 and we can answer any questions you have.

Tax and Estate Planning Forum Event

Tax and Estate Planning Forum Event for October 2023

Tax and Estate Planning Forum Event for October 2023

Join us at the upcoming 2023 California Virtual Tax and Estate Planning Forum on October 16 – 20, 2023. Our Trust and Estate Loan Account Executive Tanis Kluever has recorded a video for the event that is available on the Tax and Estate Planning forum website.

This year’s Trust & Estate Forum will be held virtually from October 16 to 20, 2023. This format offers enhanced flexibility, allowing you to tailor your participation to suit your schedule. Additionly, all live sessions will be recorded for your convenience. When you register, your fee will include on-demand online access to these recordings, allowing you to view them at your own pace starting November 4, 2023, and continuing until May 30, 2024.

The virtual online live format enables you to actively engage with the speakers in real time through online participation. You’ll have opportunities for Q&A sessions, and the structure of the format will be designed to meet the requirements for continuing education credit, as permitted by the relevant accrediting agencies.
Certain accrediting agencies mandate continuing education credit exclusively for participants of the live virtual broadcast. You can view the Trust and Estate Planning Forum website or call (800)332-3755 for additional details on this years event. The live virtual format will deliver a seamless and enriching experience, providing the same valuable insights and networking opportunities as the in-person event. We hope to see you there.

If you have questions on a Trust or Estate Loan or are inheriting a home and are interested in transferring a parents property tax base, please call us at (877)464-1066 and one of our qualified Account Executives will answer all of your questions.

What is a trust loan?

Please watch our video covering some of the benefits on a trust loan or loan made directly to a probate estate. If you would like to learn more about a trust loan or how much you may be able to save by equalizing a trust and avoiding property tax reassessment, please call us at (877) 464-1066.

Trust Equalization Loan

Trust Equalization Loan

Trust Equalization Loan

A trust equalization loan is a loan to a trust or irrevocable trust to facilitate an equal distribution of assets when disproportionate assets such as a home are involved. Trust equalization loans can be a requirement when one of the child beneficiaries is attempting to do a parent to child transfer in order to keep a parents low property tax base on an inherited home and the trust contains insufficient cash assets to make an equal distribution.

We provide more loans to irrevocable trusts than any other lender in California. We specialize in assisting beneficiaries who inherit a home, transfer and keep a parents property tax base.  We have provided over 550 trust equalization loans and on average save our clients more than $6,500 a year in property taxes.

Are you in the process of inheriting a home from a parent? If so, call us at (877) 464-1066 and we can provide you with a free trust equalization loan benefit analysis. I will let you know exactly how much you can expect to save each year in property taxes and one of our helpful trust loan account executives will answer all of your questions on how the process works.

Trust Loans and the Proposition 19 Exclussion from Property Tax Reassessment

Trust Loans and the Parent to Child Exclusion for Reassessment

Trust Loans and the Parent to Child Exclusion for Reassessment

When California Proposition 19 went into effect on April 1st, 2021, it replaced Proposition 58. California Proposition 58 previously controlled how a person inheriting a home from a parent could avoid property tax reassessment. Under the newly passed Proposition 19, a few of the rules for obtaining an exclusion from reassessment have changed.

Under Proposition 58, a child inheriting a home from a parent could apply for an exclusion from property tax reassessment with no value limitation, providing it was a primary residence. With Prop 58 you could also keep an investment property with a 1 million dollar exclusion per parent. Under Proposition 19, there is a limit of the current taxable value plus $1,000,000 on a primary home. Additionally, Proposition 19 eliminated the ability to avoid reassessment on an inherited home that will not be used as your primary residence.

There are additional requirements when it comes to receiving an exclusion from reassessment on an inherited home. One key point for the Assessor’s Office is to show that everyone receives their equal share according to what the trust states. If an equal distribution is required, a loan cannot be made to the trust by any of the beneficiaries who intend on keeping the real property. Doing so would be considered a sibling to sibling buyout resulting in a transfer between beneficiaries rather than a transfer from parent to child. For example, if the only asset in the trust was a home worth $900,000 and one of the three child beneficiaries wanted to keep that home, a loan would need to be made to the trust for $600,000. In this situation the two beneficiaries who did not want the home would each receive their $300,000 cash and the other child receives the home with $300,000 equity left in it after the trust loan was made.

When there are insufficient cash assets for an equal distribution to be made from an irrevocable trust, a person will often require the assistance of a trust and estate lender. As documented by the California Board of Equalization, the acquiring beneficiary may not utilize their own funds or make a personal guarantee on the loan. Doing so would create a sibling to sibling buyout, disqualifying them for the full parent to child transfer exclusion. The loan will need to be made directly to the trust, without first removing the property from the trust or requiring a personal guarantee from the acquiring beneficiary. A qualified trust and estate lender will make a loan directly to the trust, providing enough cash for the equalized distribution to be made. The trust lender often works directly with an attorney or property tax consultant. A trust loan is typically a short term loan with no pre-payment penalty. Once the property has been transferred from the trust to beneficiary, the loan can be paid off or refinanced into a conventional mortgage.

Additional information on this is available on the California Board of Equalization website located here.

If you, a family member or client is in need of a loan to a trust or irrevocable trust, you may contact us at (877) 464-1066. One of our Trust Loan Account Managers can answer any questions you may have on the trust loan process and put you in contact with a Qualified Trust & Estate Attorney or California Property Tax Consultant in your area if you are in need of assistance. We will also provide you with a no cost trust loan benefit analysis that will estimate how much you can expect to save by using a trust loan to avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home.

Trust Loans

Trust Loans

Trust Loans in California

What are Trust Loans?

Trust Loans or Loans to Trusts are loans made directly to a trust as opposed to an individual. With a conventional mortgage, a borrower applies for a loan and signs the loan documents personally guaranteeing the loan. With a trust loan it works a little different. Instead of a borrower guaranteeing the loan, the Successor Trustee will sign loan documents on behalf of the trust and the lender lends to the trust as opposed to a person. With a trust, usually a home is used as the collateral for the trust mortgage or trust loan. Often times there is no credit check, income verification or personal guarantee involved with a trust loan.

What is the purpose of a Trust Loan?

Most of the trust loans that we provide are to prepare a trust for distribution so that one of the trust beneficiaries can avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home. California is one of the few states that provides a property tax security measure which prevents property taxes from increasing too rapidly. In California, Proposition 13 is what achieves this. California Proposition 13 caps the maximum increase of the assessed value of a home at 2% annually. This means that over a 10 year period, if your home doubled in value from $400,000 to $800,0000; you would only be paying property taxes on an assessed value of approximately $487,500 as opposed to the current market value of $800,000. In California, the typically property tax rate is 1% of the assessed value. So in the example above, it would mean an annual property tax savings of $3,125.

California Proposition 13 has been in effect since 1978. As you can imagine, since 1978 property values have increase significantly and Proposition 13 has kept the assessed values of many homes extremely low. In addition to preventing property taxes from increasing too rapidly, California has other laws to protect residents. Proposition 19, allows a parent to transfer a home to a child and avoid reassessment on that home if it is a primary residence. This is where a trust loan becomes very important. California Proposition 19 has specific requirements that must be met if a person inherits a home from a parent and wishes to avoid property tax reassessment on that home. One of those requirements pertains to trusts and estates. The California Board of Equalization requires that an equal distribution of assets be made to all child beneficiaries unless specific language exists in the trust. Information on this can be viewed here on the California Board of Equalization website When a trust is involved, a trust loan is likely the only way to accomplish an equal distribution.

Often times when a trust contains real estate, the home is by far the most valuable asset in the trust. When there are multiple beneficiaries in the trust, that often time means an equal distribution can not be made without cash being added to the trust. The trust loan resolves this issue by injecting cash into the trust while at the same time placing a lien or debt against the real estate. This allows for one child to inherit the home while other children receive an equal amount of cash, creating an equal distribution. Since the loan is made to the trust as opposed to the beneficiary, the child inheriting the home can qualify for the Proposition 19 exclusion from property tax reassessment. On average our clients save $6,500 a year in property taxes by avoiding property reassessment.

If you are inheriting a home and are interested in keeping a parents low property tax base, we may be able to help. We have assisted over 450 clients in avoiding property tax reassessment. We work with Trust & Estate Attorneys and Property Tax Consultants across California. Call us at (877)464-1066 and we can provide you with a FREE Trust Loan Benefit Analysis that will let you know if you may be eligible to avoid property tax reassessment and how much in annual property taxes a trust loan may help you save.

Do property taxes increase when you inherit a home?

Do property taxes increase on an inherited home?

When you inherit a home, do the property taxes get reassessed?

Do property taxes increase on an inherited home?

The simple answer is yes. When the County receives notice that ownership has changed on a home, by default a reassessment is triggered. Even more importantly, in some cases property reassessment can be retroactive to the date of death. When this occurs the person inheriting the home can be hit with a massive tax bill.

Can property tax reassessment be avoided on an inherited home?

The good news is yes, property tax reassessment can be avoided on an inherited home. Each month we help our clients avoid having their inherited home reassessed. California has laws that allow you to avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home if you qualify and transfer the property in accordance with the Board of Equalization requirements. When multiple siblings are involved things can get a little complicated. The California BOE and County Assessors Office will often require that an equal distribution of assets be made to qualify for a full exclusion from reassessment unless specific abilities are granted in the trust. If the distribution is not equalized or if a child contributes their own funds to buyout other child beneficiaries then the property will likely be reassessed as it is considered a sibling to sibling buyout and opposed to a parent to child transfer. California has no laws that allow siblings to transfer property without reassessment, only parents to children or grandparents to grandchildren.

Commercial Loan Corporation has specialized trust loan programs designed to meet all of the BOE requirements to qualify for a parent to child transfer and avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home. We work directly with your Attorney, Trust Administrator or California Property Tax Consultant to make sure you will avoid property tax reassessment. In fact we have helped hundreds of clients avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home and have saved California’s over twenty million dollars in the process. We are California’s top Trust & Estate lender and even offer California State Bar approved continuing legal education on the subject.

If you, a client or a member of a trust may be interested in inheriting a home from a parent, we can provide you with a free trust loan benefit analysis. It will let you know how much you would be eligible to save from avoiding property tax reassessment on an inherited home. On average we save our clients over $6,500 each year in property taxes. The process is quick and easy and we can answer any questions that you have. Please complete our trust loan information request form or call us at 877-464-1066.

Parent to Child Property Tax Transfer in California

Parent to Child Property Tax Transfers in California

Parent to Child Property Tax Transfers in California

Perhaps the greatest benefit of California Proposition 58 and Proposition 19 is the ability those propositions grant to a parent allowing them to transfer their low property tax base to a child. On average avoiding property tax reassessment saves a child inheriting a home over $6,500 a year. In some situations that property tax savings means the difference between a child being able to afford keeping an inherited home or having to sell it.

Depending on the date of death of the parent who is transferring real estate to a child, the child may be able to take advantage of the Proposition 58 benefit or be forced to use the new Proposition 19 property tax transfer benefit. California Proposition 19 went into effect on February 16, 2021. The California Board of Equalization has created a chart (located here) to help you understand the difference between the Prop 58 and the Prop 19 parent to child transfer benefits. The two primary differences boil down to the ability to transfer a home that will not be used as a primary residence and the amount of property value that you are able to exclude from reassessment. Proposition 19 only allows a child to avoid property tax reassessment on a home that will be used as their primary residence, where Proposition 58 does not have that restriction. Additionally, Proposition 19 allows you to exclude the current taxable value plus $1,000,000; where Proposition 58 has no value limitations for a principal residence.

Often times when a trust is involved, a parent will leave a family home to multiple child beneficiaries. When that is the case and one of the children wishes to keep the family home and take advantage of their Proposition 58 or Proposition 19 property tax transfer benefit to avoid property tax reassessment, the trust may need to borrow money against the home so that an equal distribution on trust assets can be made. In many cases the California Board of Equalization will require an equal distribution of the trust assets be made in order to qualify for an exclusion from property tax reassessment. If there are not sufficient cash assets held in the trust, the trust will need to borrow the funds to make the equal distribution. Commercial Loan Corporation is one of the few lenders in California that will make a loan to an irrevocable trust.

We specialize in assisting beneficiaries and trust administrators when a loan to an irrevocable trust is required. If you would like to learn more about how a loan to a trust can help you avoid property tax reassessment on an inherited home, please call us at 877-464-1066.