Page 19 - Real Estate Now May-June 2022

Planning ahead for property inheritance
If you’re thinking about giving someone property as an
inheritance, or will become the beneficiary of property,
pre-planning is never a bad idea.
When one or more property heir is involved, such as
siblings, Heath says it can get tricky when deciding if it
should be sold or co-owned. In some cases, one sibling
may want to keep the property, while the others want to
sell it or be bought out. There may also be cases where
inheritors don’t agree on the regular upkeep costs and
contributions to the property.
To avoid potential conflict, Heath says it may be beneficial
to do some estate planning ahead of time. This can be
done with a general lawyer or an estate lawyer who
specializes in estate planning. As part of the pre-planning
process, Heath advises in cases where a property may
be subject to capital gains taxes, to keep records of the
improvements and renovations done, not to mention
what its original purchase value was.

“[Without] those records, your executors or your children
may just be guessing or may end up paying more capital
gains tax than your estate needs to pay without good
records,” said Heath.

If you’re considering the sale of an inherited property,
search for an experienced REALTOR® for support and
advice throughout every step of the process. ■

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