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Protect the bereaved
Please ask your Assemblymember to support SB 153. This bill would provide that, upon the death of one co-owner of a property, the transfer of the deceased's half of the property to the other co-owner would not constitute a legal change of ownership. As a result, the death of one of the co-owners would not result in an increase in property taxes on that property. This means counties would not be able to raise property taxes on a home co-owned by two people when one of them dies and the other co-owner inherits the deceased person's half of the property.
SB 153 by Carole Migden (D–San Francisco) would make it easier for the survivor of a couple that is neither married nor registered domestic partners to be able to keep their property upon the death of one of them. As current law stands, upon the death of one spouse or registered domestic partner, a co-owned residential property does not get reassessed and property taxes are not increased. However, a couple that co-owns their home but does not marry or register as domestic partners faces the prospect of increased property taxes on their home's value upon the death of one of them.
Why is this important? In many cases, when one partner dies, the household income is halved. Many couples bought houses a long time ago when house values (and, correspondingly, property taxes) were much lower. Upon the death of a partner, if the property tax of a house is increased because of the "transfer" of property, the surviving partner may not be able to keep that house. SB 153 makes it easier for the surviving partner, who otherwise has no legal relationship to the deceased partner, to afford to keep the house.
There are several reasons why such couples would not simply register as domestic partners or marry. For same-sex couples, that means their names go in the public record as married or domestic partners. Many same-sex couples are leery of letting that happen. Some same-sex couples are choosing not to marry now because they fear their marriage may be invalidated anyway by the proposition on this fall's state ballot that seeks to make permanent: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Some feminists see marriage as a male chauvinist institution and want nothing to do with it. Some straight couples refuse to marry until it is absolutely certain that same-sex couples have a firm right to marry as well.
SB 153 would equalize property transfer and taxation for all families. Please ask your Assemblymember to support it.
Please copy the following text into your favorite word processor and customize it. Return it to LLP so we can track it.
The Hon.
The California State Legislature
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Assembly Member:
Please support SB 153. This bill would provide that, upon the death of one co-owner of a property, the transfer of the deceased's half of the property to the other co-owner would not constitute a legal change of ownership. As a result, the death of one of the co-owners would not result in an increase in property taxes on that property.
SB 153 would make it easier for the survivor of a couple that is neither married nor registered domestic partners to be able to keep their property upon the death of one of them. As current law stands, upon the death of one spouse or registered domestic partner, a co-owned residential property does not get reassessed and property taxes are not increased. However, a couple that co-owns their home but does not marry or register as domestic partners faces the prospect of increased property taxes on their home's value upon the death of one of them.
Why is this important? In many cases, when one partner dies, the household income is halved. Many couples bought houses a long time ago when house values (and, correspondingly, property taxes) were much lower. Upon the death of a partner, if the property tax of a house is increased because of the "transfer" of property, the surviving partner may not be able to keep that house. SB 153 makes it easier for the surviving partner, who otherwise has no legal relationship to the deceased partner, to afford to keep the house.
There are several reasons why such couples would not simply register as domestic partners or marry. For same-sex couples, that means their names go in the public record as married or domestic partners. Many same-sex couples are leery of letting that happen. Some same-sex couples are choosing not to marry now because they fear their marriage may be invalidated anyway by the proposition on this fall's state ballot that seeks to make permanent: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Some feminists see marriage as a male chauvinist institution and want nothing to do with it. Some straight couples refuse to marry until it is absolutely certain that same-sex couples have a firm right to marry as well.
SB 153 would equalize property transfer and taxation for all families. Please vote for it when it comes before you in the Assembly.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
This page updated July 2, 2008.