Best Probate Attorneys in Somerville, MA

Ask Me Anything "EPISODE 22" | Erica Endyke Question: Should I put my son's name on my house deed? Answer: You definitely want to leave it as an inheritance to him for a few reasons. The first one is capital gains taxes. When you give someone property in life, there is a chance that if they later sell the property and it's increased in value substantially, they're going to pay some hefty capital gains taxes. However, if you leave it to them through inheritance, they will get something called a step-up and cost basis which means that they will reduce their likelihood or exposure to capital gains taxes. The other reason is when you give someone a property, you put their name on an account or Real Estate Deed, which means it's their property, so if they have creditor issues or if they're going through a divorce, that could be subject to being taken. And I'm sure that is not the intent at all, which gets to the real question why do you want to put your son on your house deed? Is it to avoid probate? Because there's other mechanisms to accomplish your goals, namely living trust. I would suggest you reach out to an attorney before making any deed transfers or account transfers and discuss some more options. For more AMA videos, subscribe to us at...