Do you know what has to happen within 150 days of the death of a person who has placed their house in a living trust with their children as beneficiaries?
Many sons and daughters (heirs and beneficiaries) do not know that California law requires them to file certain documents to notify the county assessor of their parents’ death and that these documents MUST be filed promptly. California law states that when an individual dies owning a house in California, the Assessor must be notified within 150 days of death if the house is in a living trust. If the house is in a probate, the notification is when the Inventory and Appraisal Form is filed.
Many sons and daughters sadly find this out when they are hit with a huge supplemental unsecured property tax bill. For example: Mom put the house in a living trust and named the daughter as the beneficiary. When mom passed away the house was worth $400,000. Daughter
lives in the house for the next 15 years before selling it for $800,000. Daughter will get a nasty supplemental unsecured property tax bill for the difference between the $400,000 and $800,000 because the Assessor was not notified within the 150 days window. It is an unsecured property tax bill because the house has been sold. The worst part is that this could have been avoided! This could have been avoided if she had filed the appropriate documents with the county assessor within the 150 days of death. All she had to do was to the notify the county assessor and take advantage of Proposition 58, which allows for a parent to child property tax reassessment exclusion.
