Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Proposition 58 denied
My wife and I received as a house as a gift last December from her mother and grandmother. We wanted to avoid reassessment from Prop 13. The Assessors office in structured us to transfer the property, and to complete the Prop 58 form (Exclusion from Prop 13 transfer from Grandparent/Parent to Child). The Title Company also transferred the property knowing we wanted to avoid Prop 13. A year later, our Prop 58 has been denied even though we did everything as instructed. Assessor�s office is washing their hands off this. The Title Company is trying to see if they can help. In the meanwhile, our house is being reassessed from $58,000 to $235,000. I also cannot find an Attorney to help us. Any suggestions on what to do? I haven�t been able to sleep well over the last six months over this issue. Any help would be appreciated!
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Proposition 58 denied
You should be able to find an attorney to handle this for you on a contingency basis. You can contact me for a free assessment and consultation.
Re: Proposition 58 denied
The problem is probably that the grandparent/grandchild exclusion usually doesn't apply unless the recipient's parent has predeceased them. Thus the grandmother's portion given to you may be reassessed.
Have an attorney review the transfer to see if it could be characterized as coming from your wife's mother, or a different exclusion may apply. An attorney should at least be willing to review the transaction for a couple of hours (and charge you for it) to look for any loopholes.
Re: Proposition 58 denied
Two propositions come into play in your situation; Prop. 58 covering parent-child transfers and Prop. 193 for the grandparent-grandchild aspect.
It's possible the assessor's problem with your case is the commingling of the three generations. The in-law aspects of the transfer should not present a problem.
I suggest you look at this web site:
http://assessor.co.la.ca.us/Guides/prop58.asp
for a semi-technical discussion of the requirements for applying for exemption from reassessment.
I suspect the title company has made a blunder, and this may underly their willingness to assist you. Take advantage of that willingness, but also have your documentation (deeds, tax-related communications, application for exemption, etc.) reviewed by a local real-estate attorney.
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