With the rising cost of homeownership, many families are considering gifting their homes to their adult children. This generous intent is great. However, estate planning is needed to ensure that the estate or heirs don’t face a large tax bill. A recent article from Realtor.com, “What You Need To Know Before You Gift Your Kids Real Estate,” recommends working with an experienced estate-planning attorney to create and document your wishes to avoid IRS scrutiny or other challenges. You can learn how to gift real estate without creating problems for heirs.
Generational wealth can be passed on. However, there are limits on gifting amounts, even for cash. An annual exclusion is the amount a person may give to any single recipient before incurring a gift tax. A single person may gift up to $19,000 per year to as many people as they want, with no gift tax. Married couples may combine their individual exclusions to give a total of $38,000 per recipient. Some estate planning attorneys advise keeping gifts well below these thresholds to avoid errors. If you go over the exclusion amount, you’ll need to file a gift tax return.
In 2026, the estate lifetime gift and estate tax maximum is $15 million. This is the total amount that can be gifted above the annual exclusion throughout a person’s lifetime, and that can be in their estate before any federal estate tax applies. There are also state estate taxes to consider.
Estate plans use both wills and trusts. The will outlines how property is to be distributed upon death. Trusts are legal entities that allow a third party to manage assets on behalf of beneficiaries. The trust owns the assets, and the trustee manages them. Assets in trusts don’t go through probate, which includes a court review and approval of the will and the executor.
Some people prefer trusts, which do not go through probate, and distributions are made directly to beneficiaries in accordance with the trust’s terms. A revocable or living trust allows the grantor to make as many or as few changes to the trust during their lifetime. An irrevocable trust is more permanent and offers stronger creditor and litigation protection. However, it cannot be changed (with some exceptions).
Loans are also used to provide money to children, rather than a gift. This helps the recipient and the donor avoid gift tax issues. However, it must be properly documented. The agreement must outline payment terms, interest and any necessary deadlines. A loan agreement helps establish that the transaction is a loan rather than a gift, as gifts exceeding the gift tax exclusion make the donor subject to tax.
Estate planning attorneys advise parents to ensure that their adult children are prepared for real estate or other inheritances. Is it realistic for siblings to own a home together? Will they be able to work through the issues of homeownership, including maintenance costs? If one child lives nearby and the other lives on the opposite coast, how will they share the house? A bigger question: do the kids even want the home?
One of the most important tips for parents who want to pass on real estate or money is to work with an experienced estate-planning attorney to document every step of the process. The estate planning attorney will walk you through how to gift real estate without creating problems for your heirs. When completed in a timely manner, an estate plan enables efficient transfer of wealth with as few bumps as possible. If you would like to learn more about gifting strategies in estate planning, please visit our previous posts.
Reference: Realtor.com (Dec. 15, 2025) “What You Need To Know Before You Gift Your Kids Real Estate”
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