Adding Partner To Home Title

Added October 5, 2006 by Ilyce R. Glink

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Summary: A quit claim deed can be used to add a partner to the title of a home, but it's also important to mimic the protections a heterosexual couple would have in home ownership. The title can be put into a web of trusts for protecting both partners. There are also tax considerations when adding a partner to a home's title.

Q: I want to add my partner to the title of my home. What are the legal consequences of this and what forms do I need to fill out? Thank you for your time.

A: You can simply do a quit claim deed, but that will only accomplish part of your goal. What you want to do is protect each other in a way that would mimic the protections you would get if you were a heterosexual couple. One way to do this is with a web of trusts. You'd put the property into a trust and she would be the beneficiary on the trust. There are also tax considerations to think about. Putting your partner on title to the house is like giving her a gift of half the value of the property. While you can give anyone up to $12,000 per year tax-free, if your property is worth more, you'll have to fill out a gift tax return with the IRS and it will start to eat into your $1 million lifetime gift exemption. I've written about this topic on my website. You might also want to check out a book by Sheryl Garrett (www.garrettplanningnetwork.com). She is a certified financial planner (CFP) who has written extensively about this topic. Good luck. And, thanks for visiting ThinkGlink.com.

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