Hospice of the Comforter

     Here’s a common question many families ask:
     "When my spouse and I are gone, what do we do with our house? We originally put it in our Last Wills and Testaments that each of our children would inherit an equal share of the house when we’re gone, but that seems overly complicated. Our kids don’t want it. They don’t want the headache of managing it as a rental property. They don’t want the hassle of trying to sell it, especially in this market. Are there other options?"

Option 1 - Living Trust
     Some families create a living trust. They place their house in the trust during their lifetimes, with instructions for the trustee to sell the house once both spouses are gone. This bypasses probate on the house, avoids multiple children inheriting co-ownership of the property (and potentially exposing the house to creditors), and the hassle of the children (as co-owners) managing and selling the property.
     You also can designate how the sale proceeds are to be divided in the trust. This is especially useful if you want to leave unqual shares to some of the beneficiaries or gift a portion of the sale proceeds to charity.

Option 2 - Charitable Bequest
     You can gift your house to charity. It’s simple. You name the charitable organization of your choice – like Hospice of the Comforter – to receive your house in your Will or Living Trust. (If you’d like to benefit multiple charitable organizations, the Community Foundation of Central Florida can receive your house and use the proceeds from selling the house to support the organizations you designate.)
     Your estate’s Personal Representative (or the Trustee of your living trust) simply transfers the house to Hospice. Hospice then becomes responsible for selling the house. The proceeds will benefit the patients and families we serve.

Option 3 - Life Estate
     You can donate your house to Hospice of the Comforter now, take an income tax deduction for the gift, and continue to live in the house for the rest of your life! In this arrangement, you donate your house to Hospice (or the charity of your choice) while retaining a “life estate” for you and your spouse.
     For as long as you live, you can occupy the house, rent it out, or allow other family members to live in it. When you’re gone, the house avoids probate (and estate taxation) because it’s owned by someone else from the moment the last life estate owner dies.

There is no hassle for your family members or estate after your death. You can even use the income tax deduction to offset other taxes due during your lifetime. One family used the income tax deduction during their lifetime to offset the income taxes for several years of accelerated IRA withdrawals. They used the now tax-free money to set up college funds for all of their grandchildren. It saved their children 25% or more in income taxes they would have paid on the inherited IRA. How’s that for a win-win?

However you decide to do it, gifting your house can be beneficial for you, your family, and the hundreds of patients and families Hospice of the Comforter serves every day. Depending on your unique situation, there may be other charitable giving options for your home that are more advantageous. Contact Ray Barr at 407-379-0190 if you’d like to discuss the benefits of a planned gift. Together, we can discover the options that work best for you and your family.