Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Gifting Real Property That's In My Living Trust

This CAN be done, of course; it's a matter of executing a deed properly and delivering it....but WHY would you want to do this? The major purpose of a revocable living trust is to make probate-avoiding, tax-minimizing gifts to your children. Taking property out of the trust and making a gift of it while you're still living can cause you and/or, in the future, him to have tax liability into many tens of thousands of dollars (depending on appreciation, future tax rates, etc.) that you are now set up to avoid. See a tax advisor, estate planner and/or the attorney who prepared the trust before you make a mistake one or the other of you will regret. There may be special reasons in your case, but 98% of the time making an inter vivos (during lifetime) gift of property, especially appreciated property, is unwise from a family wealth-planning standpoint.