Buying or Selling a Home/quit claim deed

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Expert: John Hendricks - 2/15/2008


Question
QUESTION: My husband and I own a home with joint title with right of survivorship.  We are thinking of adding our 2 married sons on the title so they would own the house upon our death. Is a quit claim deed the best way to do this?  Are there any negatives to doing this?
Thank You

ANSWER: Dear Anna;

I have been out of town and just got your message... This is a homework question, so let me have Friday to do a little research. I an sorry for the delay...By the way, what state do you reside?

John Hendricks

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We live in Washington state.

Answer
Dear Anna;

Thanks again for being so patient in waiting for a response from me. You have a good question. After doing some research, there is an article that is being sent to me to review via e-mail. After reviewing it, if it pertains to your situation, I will forward it to you, but I need your e-mail address first. It will come in the form of a PDF file attachment. Unfortunately, Experts.com does not have an attachment service for articles to questions like yours.

I am not a real estate attorney, nor am I a tax accountant, just a a experienced Realtor, would advise you to consult either of or both suggested advisers to get the exact implications you may have with the IRS and gift taxes to your children. There maybe a potential property tax re-assessment as well. Even though you are in WA, it does not matter to the IRS...They have their guidelines. Your local county though may have their own guidelines on how to treat this new joint tenancy and you may be re-assessed for property tax, and potential transfer taxes... You can check with the County Tax Assessor for detailed information on how they would treat the situation.

You may want to contact a good family trust attorney who can show you the benefits of creating a trust to counter potential estate tax and an eventual probate if you do nothing. I look forward to getting your e-mail address to forward the article. Thanks again for your question and good luck.

Warmest Regards;
John Hendricks

PS; I did get the breif article on this subject... Let me know if you would like it... John

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John Hendricks

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As a California Realtor for 23 years practicing in Marin and Sonoma Counties, it is now time to provide counsel through AllExperts.com to those who need advise in real estate. My knowledge and experience includes a wide range of resale residential real estate purchases, new home sales, income related investment properties involved in 1031 exchanges, and land. Let me help you in any of these areas...

Experience

John Hendricks has established himself as one of Marin & Sonoma Counties premier Realtors. A native Californian, John is a well-known and respected Realtor in both Marin & Sonoma Counties who has resided in the Northbay since 1976. John began his real estate career in 1986, and since then has distinguished himself as one or Northern California's top producing Realtors. Before joining Frank Howard Allen Realtors, John was an associate of the Prudential California Realty from 1990-1992 where his outstanding sales achievements earned him one of the company's highest honors, the prestigious "President's Circle Membership", presented to the top 2% of associates for sales and earning excellence. Since his association with the highly regarded Frank Howard Allen Realtors in 1992, John has once again established himself as one of his company's Top 10 Producing Realtors in Marin & Sonoma Counties for the years 1993 through 2007 and now in 2008. Five continuous years of outstanding performance has now allowed John to join 15 other Realtors in the prestigious "Lifetime Hall of Fame" for Frank Howard Allen Realtors. John established a group of professional individuals who specialize in a variety of areas in real estate called, 'Lundmark-Hendricks Fine Homes' This group of professionals are dedicated to the success of representing clients with the greatest amount of care and service when either buying or selling real estate.

Organizations
California Association of Realtors National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Upon Request...

Awards and Honors
Frank Howard Allen Realtors "Hall of Fame Member" Chairman's Circle for 10 consecutive years

Past/Present Clients
Joe Louis & Sharon Sigurdson We want to thank you again for your excellent representation of interests during the recent purchase of our home in Petaluma as well as the sell of our home in Mill Valley. We had the unusual pleasure of working with you during the last year both as sellers and buyers. We felt that our interests were always paramount and that we received a very fair price for the sale of the Mill Valley house as well as our purchase of our new home. This speaks particularly well of you, because of the recent unstable and chaotic real estate market. Will Finke "Quite frankly, we came out of a very difficult situation, which time does not allow elaborating on. This was one of the greatest experiences of our lives as clients. John Hendricks is one of the top businessmen I have ever met." Bruce & Nancy Rosentreter "I chose John Hendricks to sell my house. I picked him because I thought he was professional, aggressive, and that he could get top dollar for my house. He fulfilled my expectations completely." Joy Schuelke "Since we were trying to sell a high end home in a very tough market, and in the middle of a very rainy winter, the prospects seemed quite bleak. I was convinced at the time, and am even more so now, that without John's tenure, patience, and tenacity, we would have not been able to move the property." Lynn McCarthy "I cannot stress strongly enough how impressed I was with the service provided to me by John and his group. Throughout the entire transaction, John was always available, always forthcoming with excellent advice based on his years of experience, and always willing to put in the extra effort to make this a positive experience for me. I feel lucky to have had the experience of working with him." Lea Lieurance-Turk "Thank you John for your outstanding real estate services for the past 5 years I have known you. You have made my dreams come true as far as selling and buying property."
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