A Life of Laughter and Compassion

WRITTEN BY MELANI MOROSE EDELSTEIN

Passion is an energy source for living an inspired life. Unlocking passion can lead to happiness, providing life with meaning, energy and freedom.As Del McCulloch, an astute altruistic Torrance MemorialPatron explains, passion isn’t about pursuing the onething you love. Instead, it’s about finding love in what youdo and laughing along the way.

“Laughter is the secret to life. I have even heard itrelieves pain. If you’re fortunate enough not to haveany pain, like me at the moment, and you can’t think ofanything to laugh about, then laugh at yourself like I do,”explains the lively 93-year-old.

McCulloch, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley,recently moved from her home in Redondo Beach toMerrill Gardens in Palos Verdes. She makes the most ofevery moment and strongly believes in taking life oneday at a time. She explains her philosophy: “Anythingcan happen, which is why I moved. I was living alone, soI figured I would make some decisions while I could stillcontrol things.”

Her dedication to philanthropy fulfills McCulloch onmany levels. “The charitable gift annuities, which I havewith several charities including Torrance Memorial, area great way to earn income while still giving back, andthey make me feel good,” she says, delighted.

McCulloch regularly engages with her friends andneighbors both in person and online and fills her calendarwith travel and adventure. “There is always so muchto learn. I like the internet, watching videos and learninga new word daily on my iPad,” she says.

After losing her beloved husband, Paul, 27 yearsago, she was looking for a way to pass the time.So she packed her bags and embarked on travel adventures—building upon her world experience working for the State Department before she married.

“The pandemic slowed things a bit, but it has picked up. I went to Denali last year. This year I’ve been to South Africa and Namibia, and to Alaska on a Viking ship. I went to England, Scotland and Wales, and I’m a movie buff, so soon I’m taking a Turner Classic movie cruise. I love classic movies. Back in the day, we didn’t need all that violence and swearing to get our point across; that’s why the classic movies are so great,” she says as she makes further plans to spend Christmas and New Year’s with friends of 70 years in Mexico City.

When asked to be profiled for the planned giving program at Torrance Memorial, she was hesitant to agree, stating she doesn’t have much to share except her zest for life!

“In a nutshell, I am a conservationist and compassionate for my fellow man—hence my support of health care and the preservation of our planet. That’s not very exciting,” says Del. Respectfully, many people disagree.

Del’s selfless ways of donating her time, money, experience, skills and talent to create a better world convey the impression of an extraordinarily accomplished life of gracious generosity. •

THE PROPOSITION 19 SURPRISE

WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE F. BEZNER, ESQ.

Proposition 19 was adopted by voters in November 2020 and became law in February 2021. While this means more flexibility for homeowners over age 55 to maintain their propertytax basis when moving, all Californians have far fewer options fortransferring their properties to their children.

Before Proposition 19 was adopted, parents could transfer theirprimary residence and other properties to their children withoutproperty tax reassessment as long as the sum of the assessed value ofother properties did not exceed $1 million (there was no cap on the primaryresidence). Now parents can no longer transfer other propertiesto their children without property tax reassessment and are limitedin their ability to transfer their primary residence. The transfer of aprimary residence from parents to children will only escape reassessmentif the fair market value of the property on the date of transferdoes not exceed the assessed value of the property plus $1 million anda child makes the residence their primary residence.

Gone are the days when children can keep their parents’ house asa rental property with low property taxes. The new law also meanssome children who live with their parents will be unable to continueliving in their parents’ residence without a large property tax reassessment.Take, for example, parents who purchased their home inthe South Bay 46 years ago for $75,000 and the property is now worth$2 million. The assessed value of the parents’ house for property taxpurposes would now be approximately $183,000, based upon the 2%per year increase under Proposition 13.

If their child lived with them, they might gift the property tosuch child at the time of the death of the surviving spouse. BeforeProposition 19, the child would have kept the same property tax basis.Now, because the property is worth more than $1.183 million, the childwould have a modified property tax basis of $1 million (the differencebetween current market value of $2 million and $1.183 million, whichis $817,000 plus the original assessed value of $183,000). This wouldresult in a more than five-time increase in property taxes!

Parents can undertake some planning during life to mitigate theimpacts of Proposition 19, but when leaving real property to children,the landscape has changed dramatically.

Stephanie Bezner is an attorney and partner with Doan- Bezner in Rancho Palos Verdes and a member of Torrance Memorial’s Professional Advisory Council. Contact her at 310-541-4076 or stephanie@doan-bezner.com.