Can you put commercial real estate in an estate plan?

On Behalf of | Jan 30, 2025 | Estate Planning

For many people, estate planning just means passing personal real estate, like a family home or a vacation property. Parents may choose to give these properties to one beneficiary, or they sometimes split them equally between multiple beneficiaries, such as a group of siblings who all inherit together.

But what if you own valuable commercial real estate? Can this also be transferred in an estate plan?

Tactics to consider

Yes, you can put commercial real estate into an estate plan. For some people, this involves business succession planning. For instance, a business owner may decide to leave the entire company to one of their adult children. The business succession plan involves how they will take over the corporation and may focus on giving them specific training, identifying the proper role within the business, and transferring ownership of the company—either before or after death. Real estate may be transferred at the same time, as ownership of the entire business includes the real estate that the business already owns.

The second thing to consider is that commercial properties can be valuable assets. For instance, perhaps you own a strip mall, an apartment building or other retail centers. These can also be given to the next generation. The new owner can decide if they want to keep using that commercial property as you were—renting it out to commercial tenants—or if they simply want to sell the property to get their money out of it. Either way, that commercial property is still a valuable asset that can be part of the estate plan.

If you’re in this position, the transfer of commercial property can be complicated, so it’s very important to know exactly what legal steps to take.