California Proposition 15 2020

Let’s project ahead for a moment…  In terms of the state you may live in, of the best way to avoid inherited property being a money pit (in terms of property taxes and upkeep), of it being a home you cannot afford to keep… So let’s keep it simple.  If every state in the union adopted the same sort of property tax relief that California has, with the right to keep parents property taxes, where you can avoid property tax reassessment, as with California’s 1978 Proposition 13, and Proposition 58 voted into law in 1986; we’d all be in good shape.

In a perfect world this wouldn’t be all that difficult to attain, if every state would wake up and smell the coffee, and instate property tax breaks like California has.  Frankly, if we all had representatives in  the Congress and Senate who actually cared about their job and cared about doing their job for us – this could easily be accomplished, if the will was there. 

Why shouldn’t every state offer property tax relief like California? It’s like dental care.  Why doesn’t every healthcare plan have genuine dental care?  Not $1500 owrth and then you’re on your own, but real dental.  Can with property tax relief.  Why shouldn’t every property owner in every state have property tax relief to make their life easier… While billionaires and multi-millionaires enjoy outrageous tax breaks every year.

Every  beneficiary or heir inheriting property from parents, or simply  residents or landlords or business folks owning property, would be able to afford to keep their commercial property, or an inherited home from parents.   As in California, this affects all types of property transfers… Giving every beneficiary the ability to keep parents property taxes, or benefiting from property tax transfer, inheriting property taxes – from parents’ low tax base of 2% thanks to Prop 13… This is the property tax base that helps property owners so profoundly in California.  Why not in every state?  

Without property tax breaks, as California has had since 1978, so many heirs to so many estates, or beneficiaries of so many trusts… in so many different states, inheriting property from parents, simply can’t afford the upkeep and property taxes on an  inherited home, and frequently are forced to sell their parents’ property. Often against their will.

We can simply call it “property tax relief”, the right to keep parents property taxes, similar to what you can accomplish in California; with Proposition 13, or during property tax transfer, utilizing CA Proposition 58 – keeping property taxes much lower, avoiding property tax reassessment. Beneficiaries who are inheriting property in any of the 58 counties in California, always have a low tax base not to exceed 2% from California Proposition 13, giving beneficiaries huge tax benefits from property inherited from a parent.

Plus there is always the ability to make good use of a loan to an irrevocable trust – as trust loans from trust lenders are used in conjunction with Proposition 58 to equalize cash to beneficiaries looking to sell an inherited property held up by beneficiaries of the same trust looking to keep the same inherited home and/or land… for once making scenarios like that a win-win experience for everyone in an estate or trust situation with a trust loan from a reliable trust lender. Instead of experiencing, repeatedly, problematic family conflicts revolving around property issues like this.

Just like in California, every state in America should be able to take advantage of the right to keep parents property taxes, to transfer parents property taxes, when inheriting property taxes. If, by any chance you reside in California, and you happen to be a beneficiary inheriting property from your parents, or an older person simply maintaining property you have owned for years, consider yourself very lucky.

This is why so many real estate lawyers in various locations these days strongly believe every state should have a property tax measure similar to California Proposition 13 and Proposition 58.  Beneficiaries everywhere agree wholeheartedly.

However, one gets the sense that every property owner may not be fully aware of all these tax benefits in California. The CA Proposition 13 tax shelter benefits during and after property tax transfer (with CA Proposition 58) saves beneficiaries big bucks, being able to transfer parents property taxes, being able to keep parents property taxes… inheriting property taxes that are capped.  We should never forget that   in California it’s just as many middle class people as wealthy folks who are able to avoid property tax reassessment at present day evaluation, through Proposition 13 benefits… And that saves you major money every year off property taxes… typically in the neighborhood of $6,200+ per year in fact.  Not a million dollars, but then again not nothing either!