Step-Up in Basis: What Most People Get Wrong (and why you should care) I love how this post made a dry tax topic fun — But let’s get a few things straight. When it comes to passing assets from you → your heirs, the how matters just as much as the what. Here’s the quick breakdown 👇 Transfer at Death — via: 📜 A will. ❌ Intestate succession (no will at all). 📂 A revocable trust. → The new owner gets a step-up (or step-down) in basis. → Based on the asset’s fair market value at the date of death. ✅ This often reduces future capital gains tax when the asset is sold. Transfer during life — via: 💰 A sale → Resets basis at sale price (potential tax trap). 🎁 A gift → Carries original basis forward (another potential tax trap). In other words — trying to “give it away now” can create big tax problems later for your heirs. Now here’s where I love using revocable trusts — Not just for step-up in basis (you get that through other channels too)… But because of ...