How may my mom fulfill my grandmother’s wishes by giving me my inheritance without any taxes being imposed?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

How may my mom fulfill my grandmother’s wishes by giving me my inheritance without any taxes being imposed?

My grandmother passed. All of her bank account hold my mom as beneficiary. Her home is in a living Trust with my mom as trustee/beneficiary. My grandmother had a Will that indicated her wishes upon death – that my mom and I split everything 50/50. However, we cannot locate the Will now.

Asked on June 4, 2015 under Estate Planning, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

If you cannot locate the will, there is, for all practical purposes, no will--if a will cannot be found, it cannot be probated. That means that your grandmother's assets will pass by intestate success (the rules for who inherits what when there is no will)--which in your state will leave everything to your mother if there was no surviving spouse and your mother is the only surviving child (if there are other surviving children of your grandmother--i.e. you have aunts or uncles--they will split the estate with your mother). Of course, some things will go straightaway to your mother without probate, like the bank account or the home in a trust. Regardless, though, of how the assets come to your mother, if they come to her first and then she transfer them to you, there may well be tax consequences if she exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion.There is no way to have them transfered directly from your grandmother's estate to you, from what you write--they will pass to you mother, who then needs to re-transfer them.

There of, of course, ways to minimize taxes, but tax planning is *very* complicated and depends entirely on the specific facts--the amount and type of assets, the time frame over which you want to transfer the assets, etc. You and your mother are advised to speak in detail with a CPA about your goals and how best to accomplish them.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption