Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Death of a Real Property Owner

The Sanborn Team recently attended a very informative meeting with L.A. County Assessor, Rick Auerbach. During that meeting he discussed tax issues important for homeowners and what to do upon the death of a real property owner. In a nutshell……..


Death of a Real Property Owner

“The Assessor’s Office must be notified upon the death of an owner within 150 days of the date of death, or, if the estate is probated, prior to or at the time the inventory and appraisal is filed with the court clerk. The Change in Ownership Statement Death of Real Property Owner form is required to be completed and submitted to the Assessor’s Office, even if the decedent held the property in a trust. Failure to file a Change in Ownership Statement within the time prescribed by law may result in a penalty of either $100 or 10% of the taxes applicable to the new base year value of the real property or manufactured home, whichever is greater, but not to exceed $2,500 if that failure to file was not willful. This penalty is added to the assessment roll and is collected like any other delinquent property tax and subject to the same penalties for nonpayment.”


To learn more about this and other valuable information from the Assessor’s Office, please visit their website at: http://www.assessor.lacounty.gov/.


The Sanborn Team has over 25 years of experience selling Probate and Trust properties in Southern California. We work with Probate Attorneys, Fiduciaries, Executors, Trustees and other real estate agents who require our expertise in this field. For information on our listings, please visit our website at: http://www.sanbornteam.com/.