Tag: Probate Avoidance
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Joint Owner With Survivorship Rights, Not on the Mortgage
Perhaps your home’s deed is vested as JTWROS, but the joint owner is not on the mortgage. Will this be an issue if you pass away before your final payoff? This is a common situation for joint deed holders. The good news? This is not complicated. When a property is held by joint tenants with…
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Seniors Want to Know: The Best Way to Hold Title to a Home
Buying a home? Downsizing into a condo community? Maybe you’re acquiring a deed for the first time in many years. And you’re thinking of how your deed will eventually transfer your new home to loved ones. The way you vest ownership with your deed supports your goals. Be ready when the title company poses…
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Arizona Transfer on Death Deed: Understanding the Beneficiary Deed
If you’re searching for an Arizona transfer on death deed, you’re not alone — and you’re not far off. Arizona offers a powerful estate planning tool that accomplishes exactly what a transfer on death deed does, but the state calls it by a different name: the beneficiary deed. This distinction matters. Understanding that Arizona’s beneficiary…
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Senior Financial Exploitation: Living Trust Scams
It’s a common idea that probate should be avoided at all costs. And that a revocable living trust is the way to get around probate. Some people are packaging these ideas and marketing them. You might receive an invitation to a free seminar, or an event at a local home, where a living trust is…
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Consider This Before Creating a Life Estate Deed
Say you decide you’d like to stay in your home for life. After all, with the costs for assisted living going through the roof, holding your deed might be the best senior living plan! You can certainly draw up a life estate deed, and convey your property into a co-ownership with someone — a friend,…
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Should We Name Our Adult Child on the Deed, So Probate and Title Transfer Aren’t Needed Later?
Would it make it easy on you and your adult child to put the child’s name on the deed to the home you’re buying? Especially if you’re an older adult, it might seem to make perfect sense. But the answer isn’t as easy as it might seem at first glance. So, read on. You might…
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Can Co-Owners Use a Transfer on Death Deed for Real Estate?
Can co-owners plan to pass a home along using the revocable transfer on death deed (TODD)? Yes. If your state recognizes the TOD deed (also known simply as TODD) for real estate, there will be an official state form. Alternatively there will be a sample included in your state’s law, which you can look up.…
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Transfer on Death Deed: Second Thoughts?
Avoiding the probate courts is an important goal for some homeowners. That’s why the transfer on death deedhas achieved popularity. One by one, most states have now adopted the option. Sometimes called the TOD deed, or just TODD, it offers a relatively simple way for a deed holder to say who’ll get the deed next.…
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Life Estate Deed or Living Trust: Which Path Is Right for Your Home?
It’s never too soon to plan out the transfer of your deed after you pass. One way to do it? The tried-and-true method of writing your last will and testament and including your home in it. You have other choices, though. The life estate deed and the living trust are popular vehicles for a deed…
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New in New York: Transfer on Death Deeds
In July 2024, the brand-new Transfer on Death Deed Law went into effect in New York State. Residents are now free to create and record a transfer on death deed (also known as the TODD or TOD deed). If you know who you’re leaving your home to, and that person doesn’t already hold rights of…
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Understanding Life Estate Deeds: Benefits and Drawbacks
It’s possible to deed your property into a co-ownership with the person who will receive your home after your life. Perhaps you plan to leave your house to an adult child, or even a friend. A life estate deed is one option. It keeps you in your home for life. After your life, your home bypasses probate,…
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Multigenerational Homeownership: How the Deed Is Vested
Millions of U.S. households have multiple adult generations. How do they divide up the worth of their home and the upkeep that goes into it? Who pays the mortgage, insurance, and property taxes? What happens if an owner leaves the home, or passes away? A lot comes down to good deed planning. In this discussion…
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You Can Quitclaim Your Home to a Loved One to Skip Probate Costs. Is It Worth It?
A quitclaim deed easily, quickly transfers your home’s title. You can use a quitclaim to give a home to someone else, with no expectation of a payment from the recipient. Some people use quitclaims to pass homes to their family members. So, is this a good way to carry out your wishes yourself — a…
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Warning: When Not to Sign Over Your Deed
Transferring the deed to your home is a simple matter. Generally, you just have to find the current deed to your home, then get the right deed form to write up your new deed to convey to another party, and take the document to a notary. Then your signature can be notarized and the deed can be…
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Can I Quitclaim My House Into a Living Trust?
We’re glad you asked. You might have heard that a living trust can… All of the above are reasons many people use this method of passing their property along after they die. And a home is a typical piece of property that people put into a living trust. Importantly, a living trust is a…
