Your questions on property related issues answered

Can I put my house in trust?

How do I go about putting a house in trust for someone? I am considering putting a house in trust for my daughter which she can have the use of when she is 18 and beyond. I do not want her to be able to sell on the house but to benefit from the use of it. Are there inheritance implications in this or does the trust get around the tax problem?

Your question does not give a lot of information, according to Rory O'Donnell from O'Donnell Sweeney solicitiors from whom we asked for advice on this question. But, he says, assuming that your daughter is under 18, if you did want to transfer a house into her name now, it would have to be put into the names of trustees in trust for her because a minor is not able to deal with property until they are 18.

You want to be able to control her ability to sell the house even after she is 18. Is it your wish to restrict her ability to sell for life or just until she reaches an age where you feel she should be sufficiently mature? Whatever the answer, any solicitor who deals with property should be able to do this for you, because it would not be a complicated trust. There are tax implications in gifting a property. Every child has an amount that they can get from a parent either by gift of inheritance. Currently, the figure is €441,198. All gifts are recorded and aggregated and tax is payable once this figure is exceeded. If the house in question is worth more than €441,198, tax would be payable and you would need to get advice on this.

There is also an exemption against tax upon a gift of a house from a parent to a child which may be of interest to you. Your daughter would have to occupy the house continuously as her only or main residence for three years prior to the date of the gift or inheritance, must not own any other house or have an interest in any other house and must continue to occupy the house as her only or main residence for six years after the date of the gift or inheritance. If these conditions are met there is no tax at all and none of her tax threshold of €441,198 is used up.

You should of course seek your own legal advice about this. On a more personal level, you might think about informing the rest of your family, particularly your daughter's siblings, if any, because your decision to put a house in trust for one daughter could have repercussions for them in the long run in terms of the eventual division of your estate. When your daughter is 18, it might be wise to ensure that she is fully aware of her status, vis-á vis the house. She may have strong feelings about this one way or the other.

Agent won't take down sign

Our neighbours sold their house seven weeks ago. The problem is the very large estate agent's sign - it's still there and very annoying to look at. Our neighbours moved out weeks ago. Should we go in and take it down?

It's never wise to go onto another person's property to remove anything, even an annoying sign. The agent may be taking advantage of the vacant house to get a bit of extended free advertising - that's what a sold sign is really. Call the agent and ask for its removal immediately.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.