Lease Extension Agreement: What to look out for?

Hey everyone,

So, I own my apartment outright, 100%... But for some tax reasons down the road, it would actually be a lot better for my wife to be the one officially renting it out. We aren't planning on changing tenants or anything, just shifting things around. What do we need to do to make sure everything stays totally above board with the IRS and legal stuff?

Should we draft some kind of agreement between us about her having full use of the property (how would I even word a contract like that?)
Then have my wife sign a fresh lease with the tenants

What kind of paperwork would I need to file with the IRS so they stop looking at me for the rental income taxes and shift all those future obligations over to the new landlord—which would be my wife?

And does this whole "use of property" agreement need to be recorded with the local county recorder's office or something similar in our situation?

I spent my whole day running errands today: hit up the IRS, a notary, and my lawyer.

The IRS folks told me that since she’s my wife (which she is), we don't need any fancy special contracts... we just need to sign a fresh lease with the tenants through JPMorgan Chase to list her as the primary landlord. As far as the IRS is concerned, they just want to make sure those rental tax prepayments are being handled, and honestly, they couldn't care less who actually signs the paperwork...

Then the notary tells me everything needs official verification, specifically two signatures on the life estate agreement plus one more on the new lease.

And then the lawyer weighs in saying we absolutely have to draw up a formal life estate agreement first.

It’s just classic, everyone's got their own little agenda and they all want to push things their way...

I think I'm just going to go with what the IRS suggested, though, because at the end of the day, they're the ones collecting and distributing the funds, and it really is the most straightforward way to handle it...

Just figured I'd share the update since I already opened this whole can of worms!