Is it worth adding your child's name in a property?

[RatiTeen]

Does anyone add their kids name in their current resident when they turn 18yrs old? Does this make any difference in inheritance tax?

Add them to what?

They can't take advantage of any first time buyers offers if they already own a house.

Also, they can force a sale. As my cousin did to my aunt.

And if they get married and then divorced or they die then their husband or wife will own some of your house.

No. No one does that.

Unless there are specific circumstances at play I'd be very surprised if this would be a good idea.

It would mean your DC would be ineligible for the first time buyer stamp duty discount and first time buyer schemes, and any house they buy would be considered to be a second home and attract higher stamp duty.

It would mean that potentially your DC could force the sale of your house from under you.

If you home is worth less than half a million you can pass it to you DC free of inheritance tax anyway.

What are you looking to achieve?

You might want to ask a legal question

But I was an Executor where the husband had died earlier, leaving his half of the house to his sons. He had been told by his solicitor that this would mean that half was not due inheritance tax when the wife eventually died. The widow had a life interest and continued living in the house.

HMRC said that inheritance tax was due on the entire house because the widow had continued living in it. IIRC they called it a "gift with reservation."

There was subsequent difficulty in getting the husband's sons to agree that IHT should be deducted from their inheritance. The house value had increased significantly.

How do people avoid inheritance tax 🧐

Oh dear! How were they persuaded in the end?

I engaged a Solicitor who wrote to them and said the couple had obviously never intended that all the IHT would be charged to the widow's offspring.

It was not an unfriendly or competitive family.

If you sell the house they would also be potentially liable for CGT.

My auntie did this then my cousin got divorced...it was a shitshow but one of her own making.

My auntie did it too and her son took her to court and forced the sale of the house. Took half and my auntie had do downsize. It's ruined her life really.

Would your DC have to pay stamp duty on the share that they were getting?

Oh. gosh. That's awful. Had they fallen out? I can't understand why anyone would do that to their mum