PROPERTY OWNERSHIP QUESTION

[tanbaby1218]

What is the name of your state? GA My MIL owned the piece of property that my SIL lives on. MIL died before deeding said property to my SIL. What does SIL need to do to have property put in her name ?

 

[Zigner]

As I understand it, MIL passed away while owning property, and you now wish to know how to have the title to that property transferred to someone else. Did MIL have a will? I'm assuming that the answer is no. If that is the case, then the estate will need to be probated on an intestate basis (meaning that she died without a will). SIL can read about it here: https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-53/chapter-2/article-1/

It may be possible to avoid probate if the estate is small enough or if all parties (heirs and creditors) agree.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? GA My MIL owned the piece of property that my SIL lives on. MIL died before deeding said property to my SIL. What does SIL need to do to have property put in her name ?

The critical issue is whether your MIL had a will and, if she did, what she said should be done with the home. The problem is that in order to know how this should be done I'd need all the details of the estate and the family tree to see what might be done. Using disclaimers can be an easy way to fix this with the right fact situation. Note that the disclaimers must be executed within 9 months of the date of death to be effective for federal tax purposes, and many states follow the same nine month rule for their deadline for disclaimers to be done. After the time allowed in state law for the disclaimers has passed that option is no longer available. So if there is still time left for that, your spouse, SIL, and any other kids of your MIL ought to see a probate attorney pronto to get everything arranged to accomplish their goals with the least cost and the least amount of tax to pay. There may be several ways to accomplish the goal of getting SIL sole title to the house, but some methods will cost more or result in more tax than others. So your spouse and her family will want to see the probate attorney and, if the probate attorney is not also an expert in income tax, they'll want to see a tax professional (enrolled agent, CPA, or tax attorney) to determine what the best way to go about this will be.

Assuming that the facts allow them to get the SIL sole title to the property then the fact that the mother died before giving it to the SIL is helpful for income tax purposes. Had the home been given to the SIL before MIL died then the income tax basis SIL would get in the home would be the same as your MIL had. If the home had appreciated in value while MIL owned the property that would have meant that when SIL sold it the gain she would recognize on the sale is the difference between the sales price (less expenses of sale) minus the mother's old basis. That could result in a lot of taxable gain. But when your MIL died, the income tax basis in the home is reset to the FMV on the date of her death (or, six months after the date of death given the right facts and a proper election by the estate executor). In other words, all the gain in the property that occurred during MIL's lifetime gets wiped out at her death. That could mean that your SIL will end up paying a lot less in income tax if she decides to sell it at some point than the tax she would pay had her mother gifted the property to her while the MIL was still alive.

 

[zddoodah]

Let's clarify a few things:

First, your MIL is the sole owner of record. Correct?

Second, your SIL is your MIL's daughter. Correct?

Third, your MIL was not married at the time of her death. Correct?

Fourth, when did your MIL die?

Fifth, did your MIL have a will? If so, what does it say about who will inherit her estate?

Sixth, did your MIL have any other children besides your SIL? If so, are any of those other children still alive and, if not, did any predeceased children have children of their own?