When you want for death with joint ownership, you actually effectively do is delay tax compensation. What you lose when you plan this strategy is the tax benefit that married couples are provided. Each person has a certain tax exemption on the subject paying estate taxes ($3.5M for 2009, No tax in 2010, then $1M in 2011 and beyond). But with joint ownership planning, you lose among those exemptions all for the sake of delaying payments. Each married couple should be preparing two tax exemptions. ...
2) If you are not in order to do that, ask young children to submit wish lists to you of the money they would like to have. Have all within the listed pieces professionally priced. This is no guarantee they will get the objects their own desire. Be upfront and share this with children. Normally, when you sell property, you are taxed at the gain - the difference between the sale price as well as the "basis" price (usually quantity of money you procured the property). When ...