Family Trust Loans

Intra-family loans, to purchase a home or other big ticket items, are sometimes confused with intra-family trusts involved with  buying out a sibling inheriting property, or several beneficiaries who have inherited property from parents yet wish to sell off their property shares to an outside buyer, keeping a low property tax base or a loan to an irrevocable trust that is also associated with exclusion from property reassessment.  

Components of these processes have been discussed on a number of high-end websites at length, such as National Review who informs us in no uncertain terms, that:

“… many clients use intra-family loans to assist a relative with the purchase of a residence, the funding of a business venture or an investment in any other asset. If properly structured, intra-family loans also provide clients with an excellent tax planning strategy. To avoid having any part of an intra-family loan considered a gift for tax purposes, a client should follow specific guidelines, including charging a minimum interest rate, documenting the loan, and requiring payment under the loan terms…”

As well as the ever popular economic bible for serious students of finance, Kiplinger – where they tell us: “Intra-family loans typically use the AFR (Applicable Federal Rate), the lowest interest rate that can be charged on a loan for it not to be considered a gift. The IRS has three rate tiers for the three different “terms” of loans: a short-term loan (0-3 years), a mid-term loan (3-9 years) and a long-term loan (9 years or more).”

If you apply some serious thought to it, you’re bound to come to the conclusion that it makes very little senses to involve the  government in family loan matters.  In fact, it’s not logical to involve the government in any personal matters – financial or otherwise. 

Let’s say you borrow $250,000 from your wealthy Dad – and you pay it back whenever  you pay it back, usually at zero interest, if this even remotely resembles a close family.  If your Dad is going as far as to actually charge you interest it is no ones’ business but your own, between the two of you, as to what the interest might be, or if there even is interest at all, which generally there is not when it concerns internal family lending.   

Although the concept of involving the government in family relationships and intra-family lending is counter intuitive, California intra-family trusts, irrevocable trust loans and exclusion from property reassessment are processes that are unlike any other tax relief or financing anywhere else in the United States – and are extremely useful to both trust lenders and beneficiaries inheriting property from family members, with respect to establishing a low property tax base, as well as buying out co-beneficiaries’ inherited property shares. 

This process moves into some interesting yet often challenging areas when used to resolve inherited beneficiary property disputes and conflicts – typically over retaining versus selling property inherited from parents.… Along with enabling new homeowners and beneficiaries inheriting property to take advantage of  tax breaks under Proposition 19, parent-to-child property tax transfer on an inherited home; and the parent-to-child exclusion from property reassessment on every parental property tax transfer and transfer of property between siblings through trust loan funding; as well as Proposition 19 transfer of property and Proposition 13 to avoid property tax reassessment  when inheriting property taxes, always with the ability to keep your parents’ low tax base for trust beneficiaries,  basically forever. 

Therefore, if you reside in California and are inheriting a home and/or land from a parent who has recently passed – and you prefer to keep your parent’s low  tax rate in addition to claiming an exclusion from property reassessment, along with buying out siblings who insist on selling to an outside buyer – you can always go to a reliable trust lender to accomplish all of the above. 

Moreover, this ensures the siblings you are in conflict with, who are intent on selling out their inherited property shares, that they will  receive a good deal more cash in the transaction that any outside buyer would give them for their property shares… ending as a win-win transaction for all parties concerned.

However, let’s be clear about one thing – it is an intra-family trust that you will be transacting – not an intra-family loan.