by R. Dennison Keller, Lawyer Referral Service Panelist
If you give assets to your children, it will not be income to them. It is a gift. The gift will not be taxable per se unless the gift exceeds $14,000 and the giver has already given away $5.3 million during his/her lifetime. Depending on the amount of the gift, the giver may have to file a gift tax return. Plus, if you give away an asset that has appreciated substantially during a lifetime, you may lose the step-up in tax basis and the recipient will likely have to pay a higher tax if he/she sells it in the future than if the recipient received it after death.