My husband, 72, and I, 80, have two houses and 56 acres of land. Our daughter is a joint tenant on our real estate. Do we need a will?

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‘Our adult daughter is the beneficiary of our life insurance, power of attorney on all bank and investment accounts and joint tenant of our real estate.’ (Photo subjects are models.) – Getty Images/iStockphoto

My husband and I own a business, two houses and a commercial building on three parcels of real estate, about 56 acres. We have no debt – the real estate was paid off long ago, the business always pays on terms and we have a lot of money for retirement.

I am 80 and my wife is 72 years old. Our adult daughter is the beneficiary of our life insurance, has power of attorney in all of our bank and investment accounts, and is a joint tenant of our real estate. We have long term care insurance for my husband, but for various reasons, not for myself.

We are in good health. Indeed, we are better off than our 30-year-old workforce. There are no other family members we want to give money to and no organizations we want to support. We have communicated our wishes in advance – our daughter will have everything.

Are there compelling reasons to have a will?

loose ends

Related: I’m getting married, selling my house, making a profit of $150,000. After we pool our money, we will have $500,000. What should we do?

It's always a bad idea for parents to add children to their assets during their lifetime, even if it's a simple mistake.
It’s always a bad idea for parents to add children to their assets during their lifetime, even if it’s a simple mistake. – Example of MarketWatch

You’ve done a lot to clear the way forward – but you’ve made one big mistake.

First, the bad news: It’s always a bad idea for parents to add children to their lives, even if it’s a simple mistake. In addition to giving away the title while your daughter is still alive, she loses the “step in basis.” Instead, you can release the land through a death transfer deed to avoid the judgment.

Unlike child-held assets, child-inherited assets are transferred by “Act on the basis” This means that capital gains are based on the current value of the property rather than the original purchase price. So if your daughter stays on the books of your assets, she won’t get this significant tax benefit on your share.

As I told this reader earlier this year, you can leave your assets to your daughter by naming them in a will or revocable trust, or through a will. If she inherits the property through one of these methods, she will get the rank based on the rank. It is more important to get this matter sorted out now than if you have a will or not.

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