OT----Avoiding Inheritance Taxes???

[piebaldpython]

Briefly: My father is 85 and a widower. He has a house (BC lives there temporarily) but he lives in a retirement home. His cash assets are roughly 250K. I am his sole survivor. I am his POA and his bank accts are titled to his name in trust for me.

We would like to avoid inheritance taxes as much as possible. People supposedly in the know have told us that I would have to be CO-OWNER of his house as well as CO-OWNER on his bank accounts in order to avoid this. They have said that the "in trust for" designation only gives me immediate access to his property/funds upon his death but does not avoid the inheritance taxes. Is this right?

I am not comfortable with the whole CO-OWNER designation as in my mind it potentially opens up liability issues and also, if he sells his house and I am co-owner, then some of that profit is declared to me, right?

Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

 

[Katastrophe]

Estate laws vary from state to state, in addition to the tax rules of the Federal government. Best advice is to get in touch with an estate attorney, who's also a CPA. It's the best, fastest, way to navigate through the stuff related to your situation.

 

[poodlesrule]

"Non-educated, but I believe true" comment: the co-ownership of the house doesn't not sound right at all: if the house gets sold at a later stage, you would not benefit from the stepped up basis from "regular' inheritance. I also believe it is a common trap people fall into.

Edit to add:
- Need to figure overall size of estate. maybe it is not high enough to trigger any estate taxes, anyway.
- with that, you hit a local attorney for a free consult, and do not buy any product that sound too complex...