Using Your Home as a Gift
Give Property While Continuing to Enjoy Its Use
 The single most valuable asset many persons own is their home. Have you
ever considered using your home to fulfill the desire to make a charitable
gift? Did you know there is a way to give your house while continuing to live
there as always?
Using what is known as a life estate arrangement, you make a gift of
your home or other appropriate property now while retaining the security of
knowing you may live there as long as you wish. You enjoy the full rights and
responsibilities of ownership.
Because you will make a gift of the property at your death, you receive a
charitable income tax deduction for part of the value of the property
immediately.
You continue to maintain the property, pay the taxes, and even receive any
income it generates. But because you have provided for the future disposition
of the property during your lifetime, it does not pass through your probate
estate at death, possibly saving unnecessary expenses and avoiding delays. The
property may also not be part of your estate for federal tax purposes,
resulting in what may be significant tax savings for your heirs.
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For example: Marjorie, 77, lives in the family home that she and her late husband purchased many years ago. She has no children but has two sisters who live out of state. Marjorie plans to leave the majority of her estate to her sisters and their children, but she would like to make a substantial charitable gift in memory of her husband.
After reviewing all of her assets, Marjorie decides to make a gift of the home now, retaining the right to live there for the rest of her life. She has been advised that she has
sufficient other assets should she one day need costly long-term care.
In so doing, she gains the satisfaction of knowing she has made a meaningful gift while also enjoying an immediate income tax deduction equal to more than half the value of the home, as well as the knowledge that she has removed the home from her estate for tax purposes.
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