Tag: Estate Planning
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Don’t Be the Intestate Homeowner: Write Your Will
No homeowner should die intestate. In plain English: Every homeowner needs a will. By now, everyone knows life is fragile. Nobody has forever and a day to put an estate plan down in writing. And if you do leave things hanging, and you do pass away without a will, or without some combination of a…
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Is a Quitclaim Deed Subject to Tax?
Quitclaims are sometimes used to transfer property interests from one family member to another, or between divorcing spouses. Parents might wonder if they should use quitclaims to pass property to children to avoid the probate process. It’s easy enough to do. The homeowner signs the document with a notary, takes it to the county recorder…
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What Happens If the Mortgage on Your Home Outlives You?
Mortgages can span decades. Naturally, not all homeowners outlive these long-term loans. Here, we discuss what happens when a homeowner passes away with a loan still on the home. This can be a tough topic to confront, but reviewing the potential scenarios will help you prepare for the possibility.
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Don’t Quit Your Claim! A Quitclaim Deed Is Not a Mortgage Saving or Estate Planning Tool
A quitclaim deed conveys—”quits”—a person’s interest in a property to someone else. Quitclaims prove useful in certain transfers of properties among family members or between divorcing spouses. The quitclaim allows separating partners to follow a court’s direction and leave one party as sole owner of the marital home. Quitclaims might seem convenient in other circumstances, but…