As a Ventura County estate planning law firm specializing in living trusts, our firm commonly recieves questions about living trust fundamentals. We have a team of experts with the legal knowledge to answer questions about the process of estate planning, and what the benefits of a living trust can be.
Our firm can provide expert legal services as living trust attorneys. We are a Southern California based law firm in business since 1985. We specialize in living trusts and estate planning matters.
To learn more about living trusts, or if you would like a free consultation to learn if a living trust is right for you, please do not hesitate to contact us at (805) 482-2282, or e-mail us.
Why does joint tenancy cause income tax problems for a couple?
In short, if a couple holds appreciated property, such as real estate, as joint tenants and one of them passes away, the surviving spouse will have income taxes to pay if the property is sold.
This occurs because only half of capital gains are eliminated at death under joint tenancy. The cost may be tens of thousands of dollars or even more.
On the other hand, if the same couple were to set up a living trust and transfer the appreciated asset to the trust as community property, on the death of the first spouse the survivor could sell the asset and have no income tax to pay.
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