This is an estate planning attorney question I get quite often, so I thought I’d answer it here. The question centers around one thing generally – “how can I make sure my property goes to the right person when I die when I own it with someone who is not a relative?” Today, I’ve got the answers. First, it’s important to know the two types of way you can own property. The first is called joint tenants. This means you…
Since I did the Estate Planning 101 post yesterday, I thought today would be a good day to tackle the next most used estate planning vehicle for most people – revocable living trusts. To begin with, there are certain people that will want to consider a revocable living trust as a part of their estate plan, and the rest that won’t (but please go talk to an estate planning attorney to make sure). 1. If you own real estate in…
It’s been a while since I just dove into the basics of estate planning, so let’s do it real quick. To begin, estate planning covers you in two scenarios: Scenario #1 – you are alive but incapacitated (think you are in a car accident or you have dementia). Scenario #2 – you have died (that’s right – no sugar coating here :) – it’s okay to talk about death – it won’t kill you). In scenario number one the focus…
Looks like we’ve got a little bit of a real estate theme going on here the last couple of posts. That’s what people are asking us about, so that’s what we’re talking about. This time, we’re talking about real estate and estate planning where a house is set to go to multiple heirs at the death of the current owner of the home, and how to make sure that happens with as little conflict, animosity, and litigation as possible. To…
I had a conversation with a potential client today that asked me about whether or not excise taxes had to be paid on a real estate transfer into a revocable living trust. So I thought I’d answer that question right here. First, let’s define excise tax. At it’s most basic, excise tax is a sales tax on a real estate transaction. When real estate is sold, a tax is owed. Pretty straightforward. Second, however, it is important to note that…
Unfortunately not all marriages work out. When that happens all sorts of stuff needs to get updated, including your estate plan. Here’s the quick and dirty of what you need to think about updating, and why. FIRST, it’s important to know that if you die before your divorce is finalized, your spouse is going to be treated as your spouse. Translation = if you don’t want your soon to be divorced spouse from getting your assets, you need to update…
