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When buying real estate, title company usually asks how title should be formed. So had few questions when buying property together (or for) partner with whom you are not married, but have been living together for long time and have common children:

  1. If home title would be under "Sole ownership" of partner who is not paying for house, then would this payment be considered as gift against payer's lifetime gift exemption?

  2. Would it still be considered as gift, if title would be under "Joint tenancy", "Tenancy in common" or "Tenants by entirety"? If so, then how would the gift amount be calculated in this case?

  3. In Common Law Marriage states like Texas, would it be possible to form property under "Community Property" title? If yes, then would IRS consider this still as a gift that counts towards lifetime gift exemption?

Interested in context of Texas and California.

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    Note that the requirements for "common law" marriage in Texas is pretty strict: statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.2.htm#2.401
    – RonJohn
    Dec 4, 2020 at 3:07
  • How different is buying a house with cash and putting "her" name on the title any different from buying a car with cash and putting "her" name on the title? In both cases, "you" gave it to "her".
    – RonJohn
    Dec 4, 2020 at 3:09
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    Lots of cars over $15K, while you can absolutely buy real estate for $15000 and less.
    – RonJohn
    Dec 4, 2020 at 3:50
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    I’m voting to close this question because it is a more of a legal question rather than a personal finance question. Property rights, e.g. common-law marriage, joint tenancy, are matters that vary by state and require a real-estate attorney to answer with authority. Also, there are multiple complex inquiries in this one question. It might be answerable if broken up into a single, state-specific question. Alternatively, explain whether question is about a gift or joint ownership.
    – Ellie Kesselman
    Dec 4, 2020 at 5:30
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    Please see this answer and comment money.stackexchange.com/a/16684/3361 to understand the complexity of the issue, and the need for expert advice beyond the scope of Money SE: "In this case you need to talk to a family law lawyer."
    – Ellie Kesselman
    Dec 4, 2020 at 5:33

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