California Court of Appeal

In a trustee's challenge to a county assessor's reassessment of a shopping center complex held by the trust upon the death of an income beneficiary of trust, claiming that the transfer of the beneficiary's interest as an income beneficiary to his four children did not qualify as a change of ownership under Revenue and Taxation Code section 60, trial court's judgment denying plaintiff's writ petition is affirmed where: 1) the beneficiary held a present interest in the property's improvements, which passed to the new income beneficiaries; 2) the beneficiary had the beneficial use of the property that was transferred to the income beneficiaries; 3) the value of a lifetime interest in income is substantially equal to the value of a fee interest; and 4) the transfer of the beneficiary's interest as a trust beneficiary to the current beneficiaries constituted a change of ownership under section 60.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/16/2010
• Published 08/16/2010

Judges

• ARONSON, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Paul D. Draper