Personal-residence Trust

Definition of "Personal-residence trust"

Trust in which a home is transferred directly to the children while the parent (s) remain in the home for a fixed period of time, resulting in a substantially reduced estate tax cost. These trusts have a great flexibility in that the home in trust may be sold during the term of the trust, provided the proceeds from the sale is reinvested in another home within two years of the sale of the home. The primary drawbacks of this trust are that if the parent (s) die before the term of the trust expires, the home is included in the estate of the parent (s), and if the parent (s) outlive the term of the trust and has a desire to remain in the home, the parent (s) must rent that home from the children at its fair market value.
During the term of the trust, the parent (s) has the right to the income from the trust's property as well as the use of that property. As such, income and expenses associated with that property are reported on the income tax return of the parent (s). If the parent (s) is still alive at the time the term of the trust expires, the interest in the home that is transferred to the children is valued as a remainder interest. The tax advantage results from this remainder interest as the remainder interest in the home is valued at a substantially lower value for federal tax purposes than the full market value of the home.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Variable-rate bonds whose coupon and value increases as interest rates decrease. ...

Important 1944 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the insurance business constituted interstate commerce and was thus subject to the SHERMAN antitrust act. This decision came in U.S. v. ...

Option clause in a disability buy-out insurance policy that permits the owner of the policy to increase the limits of coverage for the expenses associated with the buy-out process. Usually, ...

Death caused by a person without legal justification. Wrongful death may be the result of negligence, such as when a drunken driver hits and kills someone; or it may be intentional, as when ...

Act that mandates that employers who have at least 26 employees must provide a terminating employee and family members, if residents of employee's household, with health insurance coverage ...

Status in which an insurance company holds funds of its insureds (the payment of premiums) in trust, and through an insuring agreement promises to make all benefit payments for which it has ...

Addition to reflect exposures with a greater probability of loss than standard exposures. For example, insuring a munitions factory obviously requires a premium greater than that required ...

Type of hold-harmless agreement made by a property owner as a condition for being served by a railroad spur. If the owner wants a special sidetrack, the railroad requires the owner to ...

Term referring to the most common charge, in health insurance, for a service. ...

Popular Insurance Questions