How critical to put spouse on house deed?

[Sukie 1,459]

Hi all.

At this point, I have not added my spouse to my house deed. I bought the place 11 years before we married.

Because of tax and residency reasons in her home country, it is VERY disadvantageous to add her to the deed.

When it comes time for our I-751 submission next year, will it hurt us horribly if she is not on the house deed? We have more than enough other financial evidence, and we actually own property together in Australia.

We are one of the very first same-sex couples to get through the process, so I'm not sure if we will come under any additional scrutiny.

I have willed the house here to her, but because she is not a US citizen yet, she'll be subject to higher inheritance taxes.

Any thoughts?

Sukie in NY

[Cheezees 1,514]

No single piece of evidence will make or break your case. If you have lots of other financial comingling evidence, you'll be just fine. Good luck!

[Ryan H 3,812]

It's not critical that you add your spouse to the house title. For example, the will is strong evidence.

[kzielu 1,149]

Not very critical at all. I am not on my wife's house deed (which she purchased before we got married) until today and already went through all the processes including I-751.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Hi all.

At this point, I have not added my spouse to my house deed. I bought the place 11 years before we married.

Because of tax and residency reasons in her home country, it is VERY disadvantageous to add her to the deed.

When it comes time for our I-751 submission next year, will it hurt us horribly if she is not on the house deed? We have more than enough other financial evidence, and we actually own property together in Australia.

We are one of the very first same-sex couples to get through the process, so I'm not sure if we will come under any additional scrutiny.

I have willed the house here to her, but because she is not a US citizen yet, she'll be subject to higher inheritance taxes.

Any thoughts?

Sukie in NY

It's not critical as long as you have other good evidence, the will is very good evidence. Just a note on the inheritance taxes, the laws have changed and non-citizens aren't affected as much as you might think. The dollar amounts one has to inherit to be affected are so ridiculously high, that hardly anyone will need to worry about not being a citizen.

Good luck!

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

We submitted a lot of other financial/ownership evidence and also don't have both people on the deed to the house. I did some poking around the old posts on VJ, and it seemed it hasn't been a problem in the past, especially if you can prove you are both residing at the same place.

[Sukie 1,459]

Thanks to all of you who have replied. I appreciate your time and advice!

Sukie in NY

[Sukie 1,459]

It's not critical as long as you have other good evidence, the will is very good evidence. Just a note on the inheritance taxes, the laws have changed and non-citizens aren't affected as much as you might think. The dollar amounts one has to inherit to be affected are so ridiculously high, that hardly anyone will need to worry about not being a citizen.

Good luck!

Teddy, B - here is the issue I'm talking about. Until my spouse is a citizen, there is no marital deduction for property.

Sec. 2056(d)(1) prohibits a marital deduction for property passing to a noncitizen spouse, even if the transferor is treated as a resident for U.S. income tax and is domiciled in the United States for transfer tax purposes.

Sukie in NY

[aaron2020 11,651]

Teddy, B - here is the issue I'm talking about. Until my spouse is a citizen, there is no marital deduction for property.

Sec. 2056(d)(1) prohibits a marital deduction for property passing to a noncitizen spouse, even if the transferor is treated as a resident for U.S. income tax and is domiciled in the United States for transfer tax purposes.

Sukie in NY

Are you plan on dying? Setting aside the joke, your wife is an LPR. Your estate would be entitled to the marital deduction because your spouse is an LPR.

The regulation you cited is about the marital deduction for a deceased spouse's estate.

Upon death of a US resident (US citizen, LPR, or illegal alien residing in the US), property passing from the deceased spouse to a US citizen or LPR spouse is entitled to the marital deduction. This means the property is not subject to the estate tax. This is allowed because US courts have jurisdiction over US citizens and LPRs. This allows the government to collect estate taxes (if applicable) at a later time.

The marital deduction is not available to a surviving NRA spouse because that spouse can leave the US and take the assets abroad. A US court would not reach a NRA.

Edited February 28, 2015 by aaron2020

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

Ignore my prior post.

The marital deduction is only relevant if you have more than $5.4 millions in assets.

You can pass property to your spouse up to $5.4 millions under the estate tax exemption available to you before the marital deduction becomes relevant.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Hi,

Ignore my prior post.

The marital deduction is only relevant if you have more than $5.4 millions in assets.

You can pass property to your spouse up to $5.4 millions under the estate tax exemption available to you before the marital deduction becomes relevant.

This was what I was talking about with the dollar amounts being so high, I knew it was somewhere around $5 million. The dollar amount is so high that the average person would not be affected.