Part IV
Family & legacy.
Inheritance, trusts, ADUs, and buying together — the questions families wait too long to ask, answered before it costs you.
What happens to my parents’ low property taxes when I inherit their house?
Since Proposition 19 took effect in 2021, this is the question California families get blindsided by. An inherited home generally keeps its low Prop 13 tax base only if a child moves in and makes it their primary residence, within a value cap. Inherit a long-held Valley home and rent it out instead, and the county reassesses it to today’s market value — often multiplying the annual tax bill on a house the family has owned for decades.
The families who keep their homes plan for this before the transfer happens, not after the assessor’s letter arrives. The full picture — including the wealth-transfer stages around it — is in the family wealth guide.
Do I really need a living trust if I own a home in California?
If you own real estate here, almost certainly yes — and not because trusts are a rich-person accessory. A home outside a trust generally goes through probate at death: slow, court-supervised, public, with costs that scale with the estate. A living trust passes the home directly to whomever you name, keeps the transfer private, and lets a successor trustee step in immediately if you’re ever incapacitated — no court involved.
One honest caveat from someone who isn’t your attorney: a trust only protects property that’s actually been deeded into it. Signing the document is step one, not the finish line. I wrote the full breakdown here — including the four mistakes I see most.
Can I build an ADU on my lot — and what does it actually cost?
In most of the west Valley, more easily than you’d guess. California’s streamlined rules mean detached ADUs up to 1,200 square feet are permitted on virtually all single-family lots in LA County with ministerial approval — no public hearing — and junior ADUs up to 500 square feet can be carved from existing space. Construction in the SFV generally runs $200–$380 per square foot, so a 600-square-foot unit lands around $120K–$230K.
Two facts change the math: lenders can count 75% of the ADU’s market rent as qualifying income, and Valley ADU rents commonly run $1,600–$4,200 a month depending on the pocket. Whether that pencils for your lot is exactly the kind of question I run for people free — start with the house-hacking guide.
How do families actually buy property together without it ending badly?
The failures are never about the house — they’re about what was left unsaid. The families who make it work decide three things in writing while everyone is still on good terms: who contributes what, how the ownership is titled, and what happens when someone wants out. A living trust documents which family member gets which property or unit; a simple written agreement covers shared costs and buyout terms; for a rental unit, an LLC inside the trust can separate liability. None of it is exotic — it just has to happen before the purchase, not after the first disagreement.
This is the heart of what I call the family compound: generations living near each other on property they own together, with equity that stays in the family. The full mission — and how a family starts — is here.
I inherited a house full of clutter and don’t know where to start. What do I do first?
Nothing gets thrown out, donated, or sold in week one — that’s the first thing I tell every family. Photograph every room before anything moves, and pull the paperwork: the will or trust, the property tax bill, insurance policy, and any prior appraisal. That record protects you either way, whether you end up clearing the house or selling it as-is.
After that, it’s a scope call with a licensed estate clean-out company for a real bid — not a guess — and one conversation that gets every sibling or co-heir aligned on what stays before a truck ever shows up. I walk the entire process, message by message, in the inherited-home guide.
Should I clean out an inherited house before selling it, or sell it as-is?
Both are legitimate, and the honest answer depends on your family’s bandwidth more than the spreadsheet. Selling as-is means no clean-out cost or weeks of work — plenty of buyers specifically look for estate properties, and I price and market the condition honestly rather than hide it. Clearing first typically nets more after the clean-out expense, but costs real time and energy a lot of families don’t have right after a loss.
A middle path most families land on: pull keepsakes and anything appraisal-worthy yourselves, let a clean-out crew handle the rest, and list what’s left as-is. I run the real numbers on all three paths before any family decides — see them worked through in the inherited-home guide.
Planning for a family, not just a transaction? Start with the living trust guide — it’s free, like everything here.
