The Deeds of Siblings - Selling Property

Q. We live in Ohio, and my in-laws put the names of their children on the deed of their residential property. Both died last year, and now my husband and his siblings are readying the house for sale. Will the proceeds be taxed in any way other than capital gains? Also is there any way that one sibling can stop the sale of the property when the four others are in favor of it?

A. If your parents names are not on the deed, then it can be sold whenever desired by all of the owners. When sold, all of the owners whose names are on the deed will have to sign the deed so, yes, the all have to agree to it. That means that one sibling can tie up the sale for everyone.

For tax purposes this is viewed as an investment property and the gains will be subject to capital gains taxes. The cost basis for each child will be their portion of the origianal amount paid for the house when the parents purchased it plus any money spent on capital improvements. That means that there can be a significant gain and a fair amount of taxes.

Your posted comments on this and other questions are welcome.
If you have a question for Jeff an answer is just a click away.
Find a wealth of information at Jeff's website.