estate planning

Does a Home Belong in a Trust for Estate Planning Purposes?

Planning ahead for real property is important but also specific to the considerations of the person creating the estate plan. Determining the most effective and tax efficient way to transfer a piece of real property requires answering important questions, such as what you hope to happen to the future of the property, who may be responsible enough to take it over and what they intend to do with it, and possible financial considerations based on the property’s location.estate planning

If you have a residence you hope to pass on to loved ones after your death, you may be concerned about the additional expense and time for the home going into the probate process. Placing your home inside a trust is one way to remove it from going through traditional probate. You can place property inside a trust to increase the chances that the outcome that you want to happen is followed. This can be either an irrevocable or a revocable trust.

If the trust is revocable, you gain the benefit of flexibility since you can change the terms of the trust up until the point that you pass away. However, only an irrevocable trust carries benefits such as protecting the assets from creditors if you were to be sued.

The three most common reasons to place a home inside of a trust for estate planning include privacy, simplicity, and avoiding probate. If these are important to you set up a time to meet with an estate planning attorney to discuss them. Meet now with a lawyer from our New Hampshire and Maine estate planning offices to determine if a trust or other avenue is best for your future home planning.

 

 

real estate

Should I Put Real Estate into A Living Trust?

Many people have questions about both the creation of a living trust and the kinds of assets that should be placed inside it. One key question you might wish to ask your estate planning lawyer is, should I put real estate inside my living trust.real estate

There is a good chance that your primary home is one of your biggest assets, which can be beneficial from the perspective of creating a living trust since you can transfer real estate quickly. This is in fact a leading reason to create a living trust in the first place because you are concerned about the time consuming and expensive process of probate and want to allow your loved ones to avoid it.

Putting real estate into a living trust avoids the problems associated with separating probate proceedings for commercial properties, homes and land that are held in different counties or out of state. Remember that in the event that there is a mortgage on the piece of property, this would require refinancing into the name of the trust and not all lenders are open to doing this.

Living trusts are great estate planning tools for plenty of people, but they are not always the right fit. Discuss your options with an attorney to ensure you select the right planning tool for your needs.

Schedule a consultation with your estate planning lawyer to discuss the different kinds of real estate you own and whether or not it makes sense to place it inside a trust. Call a NH estate planning lawyer for further help.