
Quoting
Taxing Matters
The exact facts matter, and it’s not clear to me what the facts actually are. Did your mother and father own the property jointly before she died? If so, how did they own it — tenants in common (TIC), joint tenants with a right of survivorship (JTWROS), or tenants by the entirety (TBE)? In what state did your mother and father hold this property? You say your mother passed her share at her death, giving your father a life estate and granting to you and your brother the remainder interest, right? But what about your father’1s share, if he was a co-owner before your mother died, what happened to that?
If the facts were that your mother was the sole owner of the property in a non-community property state and in her will she granted to your father a true life estate in the property and granted to you and your brother the remainder interest, then in that case the entire property got a step-up in basis at the time your mother died, but would not get a step-up in basis at the time your father died.