Good morning. The issues are mainly tax and lender issues. Regarding the tax issue, if she gives it to you now, then you don't get the basis increased to its fair market value, but instead get her basis carried over to you. But, if she gives it to you at death, then the basis gets increased, but you are subject to NJ inheritance tax. NJ has no gift tax. Regarding the lender issue, because of the HELOC, any transfer is going to require the lender's consent.

With regard to the transfer itself, she can retain a life estate and transfer it to the children directly or into a trust or LLC. The trust or LLC work best because it would allow centralized management and majority vote rather than requiring the consent of all the owners for any material decision. I would recommend the LLC because it allows both while also giving the children the most control and flexibility.

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