Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: taxes

You do not say how the title reads currently. If there is no designation specified, the presumption is joint tenancy with right of survivorship, but this should be clarified and a new Deed might be needed. To the extent that he owns a portion of the house on his death, while there may be no probate problem (joint tenancy with right of survivorship automatically makes the survivors the new owners, without any probate). However, his ownership interest could subject his estate to a possible estate or inheritance tax, depending upon the value of all of his assets, including the value of his interest in the house. You might consider having him start to gift the others his interest in the house, ultimately resulting in his not having an interest that could produce the possible death tax. A new Deed just naming the others might be required, but for his protection, if he takes his name off the Deed, is for the new Deed to provide for a life estate to him, so he cannot be thrown out. If he were to make gifts, this could have income tax consequences to the other owners later on. These suggestions should be reviewed with an estate attorney who also knows the tax ramifications, like myself, before anything is done. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship.

Re: taxes

Indeed. This is relatively simple enough. Feel free to call me in your area code at 8782163 if you need assistance.

Good Luck

RRG