Welcome to California, such a lovely place … you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Despite its natural beauty, mild climate, and other attractive attributes, some people — who once made California their home — eventually choose to leave it. Many others try to avoid establishing California residency in … Continued
Like any classic “Spaghetti Western”, the recent major tax law has some “good” elements with regards to residential real estate, some “bad” outcomes, and some “ugly” aspects, too … with the “u” in ugly standing for unclear, unknown, and unresolved. These various factors are laid out below. But the main overriding feature of the law … Continued
Phew! Nothing is changing, despite an initial effort to reduce the benefit. Good news for homeowners! The effort to reduce the home seller’s exemption was unsuccessful so the current limits remain unchanged. This means that married couples filing jointly can continue to exclude $500,000 of profit on the sale of their primary residence. Single filers … Continued
A cap on eligible deductions mean fewer will take this popular write off. The new law reduces the amount of indebtedness on which taxpayers can deduct mortgage interest. It used to be that one could deduct the interest on mortgage loans up to $1 million, plus the additional interest on up to $100,000 of any … Continued
For some thoughtful buyers with the right circumstances, timeshares might make sense — especially people who like predictability in their vacation destination. But in general, for most people, they carry many drawbacks that warrant careful consideration. Many timeshares are marketed and sold aggressively by promoters with conflicting incentives, so caveat emptor is an important first … Continued
Earmarking the family home — or some portion of it — to fund a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) can satisfy philanthropic intent, reduce personal taxes, and generate long-term income. For those with certain needs and desires — coupled with the right set of circumstances and capabilities — this approach could be a better alternative than … Continued
It used to be that earthquake insurance in California had to be offered by the same company that underwrote one’s regular homeowners policy. Then in 1994, the devastating Northridge earthquake literally shook up the entire industry, and subsequently many insurance companies simply refused to write either type of policy. Out of necessity, a new entity … Continued
In the alphabet soup of estate planning jargon, the acronym QPRT is one of the more familiar — if not fully understood — terms and it represents a popular and rather common technique for potentially passing significant wealth amongst generations using family homes with little or no gift or estate tax consequence. The letters stand … Continued
Are you adequately insured on your Homeowners insurance coverage? It was not that long ago that many homeowners in California could purchase “guaranteed replacement cost coverage” for their dwelling, and thus not really worry too much about the potential cost of rebuilding if they suffered great damage or even total destruction. This type of insurance … Continued
Utilizing Home Equity to Meet Long-Term Needs and Objectives The term downsizing typically connotes difficult decisions, often conjuring up images of harsh corporate layoffs. But downsizing also commonly describes the sensible and often rewarding —even cathartic — act of moving from a large house into a smaller and more manageable living arrangement. Of course, … Continued