Parents shouldn't place kids' names on real estate

DEAR BENNY: Twenty years ago my mother placed my name on the deed to avoid issues when she passed on. Will the IRS treat this as inherited property or consider it investment property? Did I inherit her half of the property? --Theo

DEAR THEO: Why, oh why, do parents do this?

For example, let's say your mother and father bought their house years ago for $20,000 (sounds great but that was a lot of money then). For tax purposes, your parent's tax basis was $10,000 each. Your father died 20 years ago, when the house was worth $40,000.

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