When someone dies and leaves an inheritance, the heir may have to pay an inheritance tax. Talk to a tax professional about current laws. The death tax is another term that used to refer to inheritance tax. Taxes owed to the state because of inherited real estate have to be paid. If you inherited real estate, it is very important to take the steps needed to find out if you owe an inheritance tax on it. Usually the direct heir of the deceased owner has to pay the inheritance tax, but there is a limit imposed on the amount of taxes you have to pay on inherited real estate.
Inherited real estate may cause a problem for some heirs. One way to avoid probate problems is to give an heir advance or inheritance advance to your children. In other words, you can give your real estate to your children before you die. That way your heirs will not have to pay taxes on inherited real estate after your death.
Another thing that to do for your children, so they can avoid paying taxes on inherited real estate is to put the real estate into a family trust with you as the primary beneficiary. Many parents do this to protect their children’s inheritance and still maintain having the real estate in their name. If you have inherited real estate and you are going to sell it, make sure you get advice on taxes that may be applied on the sale of inherited real estate today.