New law allows anyone in partnership to pass or inherit property
without tax reassessment
Gilroy – Starting next week, gay and lesbian couples registered as domestic partners will enjoy some of the same tax protections on their homes as married people.
A new law passed by state legislators in the fall allows anyone in a domestic partnership to pass property to, or inherit property from, the other person in that relationship without facing a potentially crippling tax reassessment. In addition to gay and lesbian couples, the law also benefits elderly people registered as domestic partners.
“It’s really an issue of equity and fairness,” Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone said. “We should extend to registered domestic partners the same tax benefits given to married partners, not unlike corporations are doing with medical benefits. This is consistent with the tenets of Prop 13 – that nobody should be taxed from their home because of a death, separation or divorce.”
On Tuesday, Stone mailed letters to 2,000 registered domestic partners informing them of the new law. He said the assessor’s office also would spread the word by working with groups serving the elderly and gay and lesbian groups.
The new law only applies to property transfers that take place after the new year.
For more information, visit www.scc-assessor.org.
