Selling property from an estate or trust

What the engagement covers

• Valuations that stand up. Date-of-death and current valuations documented well enough for the attorney, the court, and the family.
• Coordination. The estate attorney and, where applicable, the court calendar set the constraints. The sale runs inside them.
• Preparation. Long-held homes often carry decades of deferred maintenance and a house full of belongings. I manage the preparation with vetted crews and a budget the fiduciary approves.
• Family communication. Five stakeholders hear one consistent account of the process, on a schedule.
• Marketing without the discount. A listing that reads as a distressed estate attracts bargain hunters. Presentation and process prevent that.

On taxes

Inherited property generally resets federal basis at death, so a prompt, well-executed sale is often close to tax-free, and Washington's excise tax does not apply to real estate at all. The money at stake in an estate sale is lost through execution, not taxation.

This is not tax or legal advice. Aditya Kasturi is a licensed real estate broker, not a CPA, attorney, or financial advisor. Figures are illustrative, based on Washington and federal law as understood at the time of writing, and laws change. Confirm any strategy on this page with your CPA and, where relevant, your estate planning attorney before acting.