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.

Avoid Property Tax Reassessment On An Inherited Home

Avoid Property Tax Reassessment With California Proposition 58

Avoid Property Tax Reassessment On A Home Your Inherit From Your Parents

How to avoid property tax reassessment on a home you inherit from your mother or father in California

One of the biggest mistakes that most Californians make when inheriting real estate from a parent is not taking advantage of California Prop 58. In fact even some Estate Planners, Attorneys and Fiduciaries do not fully understand the full benefits and how to navigate Proposition 58. California Proposition 58 provides Californians with the ability to avoid property reassessment when inheriting a home from a parent.

Why is Proposition 58 and the ability to avoid property tax reassessment so important?

Avoiding property reassessment means you assume the existing property tax valuation that your parent had. With how rapidly property values have appreciated in California over the last 50 years, avoiding reassessment can mean an enormous tax savings. For instance, lets say that your parents purchased their home in 1980 for $180,000. Because of California Proposition 13, the county can not reassess a home more than 2% per year while held by the same owner. For this example we will estimate the county has the home you are inheriting assessed at $250,000. If the County property tax rate is 1.2%, that means the yearly property taxes on the home are just $3,000.

If you inherit the property from your parents, and you or your legal representation do not submit a request for an exclusion from reassessment and the home is currently valued at $1,250,000, your annual property taxes will jump to $15,000! That is a difference of $13,000 per year in property taxes that you could potentially be avoided. To compound the issue, property assessment values can be reassessed upwards by 2% annually. So the following year if that occurs, your property taxes will increase by another $300 as opposed to just $60 if you had received your exclusion from reassessment. Over 10 years that can really add up.

How can Commercial Loan Corporation help with Proposition 58 and an exclusion from Property Tax Reassessment?

California Proposition 58  has eligibility requirements. A process needs to be done correctly and proper documentation needs to be filed in order to receive and exclusion from property reassessment on a parent to child transfer of real estate. One of the stipulations is that when a parents home is held in a trust, an equal distribution of the trust assets must be made to qualify for Proposition 58. An important side note is that the beneficiary receiving the property can not use their own funds to create an equal distribution. If this is done, the assessors office views it as a property transfer between beneficiaries as opposed to a parent to child transfer, making it ineligible for a Proposition 58 exclusion from reassessment. Instead, the California Board of Equalization requires that a third party loan be used to provide the trust with sufficient cash for an equal distribution to be made. This information can be found on the California Board of Equalizations website at the following link that addresses questions and answers regarding California Proposition 58.

California Board of Equalization Website Information on Prop 58: BOE website document link

“When a trustee or estate administrator 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. 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.”

Commercial Loan Corporation is one of the only lenders in California that provides loans to trusts with out the requirement of a personal guarantee. This unique mortgage product allows an illiquid trust to become liquid and for the inheriting beneficiary to qualify for the benefits of Proposition 58 by meeting the parent to child transfer requirement. Unlike other lenders, we specialize in Proposition 58 loans. Our trust loan enables a beneficiary to encumber the inherited home and infuse the trust with the cash needed so that an equal distribution can be made and they can qualify for the parent-child exclusion and avoid a property tax reassessment with Proposition 58.

Call Us Today For Assistance

If you have any questions on the process of obtaining a loan for a property held in an irrevocable trust, please call us at 877-464-1066. One of our Proposition 58 loan specialists can answer any questions you may have. We can also provide you with a no cost trust loan benefit proposal. The proposal will show you how much you could save by optimizing your trust distribution. On average we save our clients over $6,000 per year in property taxes and $40,000 in additional distributions to beneficiaries. Let us help you avoid property tax reassessment!

Call 877-464-1066 or Click Here to request additional information.

Commercial Loan Corporation Trust & Estate Loan Event

Commercial Loan Corporation Event

Commercial Loan Corporation Event

Trust & Estate Loan Event

Come meet Mike Riggs and Autumn Skerritt from Commercial Loan Corporation tonight at the Orange County Bar Association Trust & Estates Continuing Education Presentation. Tonight’s presentation will be Tips And Strategies For Practicing In Probate Court. This presentation is ideal for those of you who are new to probate court or those who are looking for a refresher. Tonight’s speakers include Alan L. Armstrong, Alan D. Davis and Gianna Gruenwald.

Mike and Autumn will be onsite to assist you with any questions that you might have pertaining to loans to trusts and estates. They will be at the Commercial Loan Corporation exhibit table out front of the presentation hall and look forward to seeing you there. The presentation will be hosted at the Chapman University, Fowler School of Law.  Chapman University, Fowler School of Law is located at 370 N. Glassell, Orange, CA 92866.

Commercial Loan Corporation specializes in mortgages to trusts and estates to help facilitate a successful parent to child transfer and exclusion for property tax reassessment. If you have a question on or need assistance with a third party loan to a trust or estate and are unable to make it to tonight’s event, please feel free to call us at 877-464-1066 so that we can assist you.