Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: real property

You can't really sell real property to a minor, because that involves a contract and minors are generally incapable of making contracts.

Nobody has heirs until they die. A living person has the full power to revoke a will and to re-name prospective heirs during his or her lifetime. It is true that if you die without a will (or trust), your estate will be divided among your various relatives under the rules of "intestate succession." This might place some or all of your estate in the hands of folks you want to disinherit, perhaps children or an estranged spouse.

However, the smart way to accomplish what you want to do is NOT to sell to minor grandchildren. Instead, you should retain an attorney in your home town who specializes in estate planning, and discuss setting up a generation-skipping trust (among other concepts that the estate planner may want to bring to your attention).

Placing property in the hands of future generations of your family is a serious task, one with many possibilities for disasterous mis-steps including huge tax burdens that could have been avoided, property going to the wrong folks, and litigation costs that eat up a big chunk of the family wealth.

Don't try to do this without a planner's input. Don't buy off-the-shelf seminar-recommended trusts. You need personalized advice, not a canned solution.

Re: real property

You don't sell it directly to them but instead us a trust or some other vehicle. Our CA member attorney can assist you with this.

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