Tag: Estate Planning
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Leaving the House to the Kids (Plural)? Take Care to Leave Clear Instructions.
It’s very common for an older deed holder to want to leave what they own to future generations. But can we get specific? Who, exactly, will possess the home? Because leaving a home to more than one person can get legally murky. Recently, the problem of unclear deed inheritances came up for discussion in the…
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Deed Theft Can Happen to Anyone—Even More So to Senior and Black Homeowners
Deed theft can happen to anyone. It affects wealthy or modest households. It can happen to a city penthouse or a farm in the country, a beach house or an unbuilt lot. But today, most of all, the targets are homes of older people and Black families. Swindlers especially zero in on the homes where…
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Roadmap: Is It Time to Transfer Your Deed to a Living Trust?
With a revocable trust (a.k.a. living trust), a deed holder may keep full control and use of a home for life. The creator (grantor) makes the trust for a beneficiary. A named trustee — and a named successor trustee to follow — will handle the assets owned by the trust on behalf of the beneficiary.…
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My Parent Will Move Into Our In-Law Cottage. What Are Her Rights If My Spouse and I Divorce?
These days, more local governments are making way for deed holders to build in-law cottages, formally known as accessory dwelling units, as additions to the home or separate structures on the same lot as the main house. Many of these deed holders will consider this an opportunity to add value to their homes and…
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How the Beneficiary Claims a Transfer on Death Deed
A transfer on death deed is designed as a simpler way to pass a home along to someone else—in states that allow these deeds. With the TOD deed, a home passes much the way a bank account passes to the account holder’s named beneficiary. Ownership is transferred in a fast and inexpensive manner. Usually. Here…
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Transfer Current Deed When Moving to Senior Care: Wise Move or Not?
You’re thinking of transferring the deed to your home and moving to an assisted living community. Is this a good idea? Can it keep the deed from being taken over to pay for care? Is it the best way to get the deed to your chosen beneficiaries and keep the transfer from becoming a probate…
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Inheriting a Mortgage Along With a Deed? A Few Considerations on How to Respond
More than 40% of baby boomers still have a mortgage on their home. The great generational deed transfer has begun, and many homes are about to be passed to the next generation. Can homes get through probate and be passed to the next-generation owner(s) with their mortgages still in place? It’s possible. This is not…
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Can a Life Estate Be Challenged?
Regular Deeds.com readers know that signing a gift deed to an adult child can have tax drawbacks. A life estate can be the answer. And it avoids any concerns that the deed will go into probate after death—perhaps to be challenged by others. But sometimes, a relative might come along and challenge the life estate!…
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Be Ready. The Great Generational Deed Transfer Comes With Some Extra Baggage
The earliest-born boomers are reaching their 80s this year. And, inevitably, many of their deeds are poised to move to younger generations. Along with those deeds, the beach-themed garden gnomes are coming, too. Yes, the vast majority of real estate inheritances come loaded with stuff. Here’s how to plan ahead for this scenario.
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Second Thoughts After Deeding Your Home to Your Child? Why and How to Fix It
You had the very best of intentions: helping your adult child get the deed to a home in a housing market stacked against young buyers. So you transferred the deed to your home into the name of your child. Why wouldn’t you? Now, your child will be able to enjoy the home. The transfer is…
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Medicaid Estate Recovery: Is Your Deed Safe?
If you qualify for Medicaid, you don’t have much money in your accounts. But you’ve held onto your deed. Maybe your adult children are helping with household expenses, expecting the home to stay in the family. But will it? Or will Medicaid claim your home after your death—as repayment for benefits extended to you while…
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Unlimited Marital Deduction: Tax-Free Spouse Asset Transfers
Where there’s a deed, there must be an estate plan. Every deed holder must decide where that ownership interest will go when they’re no longer around. Good planning takes into account how a property transfer will be taxed upon death. For spouses, there are tax advantages to know about. A key example? The unlimited marital…
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What Is an “Implied Life Estate” and Why Should Heirs Know?
Our readers will recall that creating a life estate is a way to divide property ownership, with a resident keeping a home throughout their lifetime and then passing a “remainder interest” on to someone else upon death. When the person who lives in the home passes away, the owner of the remainder interest may have…
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Older Adults Are Holding Record Amounts of Home Equity. Can Their Heirs Afford to Keep It?
Older adults are poised to pass along roughly $19 trillion in home equity over the next two decades. But the wealth is unevenly held. Many seniors struggle to preserve the equity they have. And even if they can, will their heirs be able to do the same? More than a fourth of homeowners aged 65+…
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How It’s Going: The Rise of the “Transfer on Death Deed”
Homeowners looking to pass property to the next generation are increasingly asking about transfer on death deeds. These deeds aren’t new. But they are a relatively new option in a number of states. Many people only know about them when their state lawmakers decide to introduce them. Today, more than 30 states allow for a…
