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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Gratia Schoemakers
      • Community Outreach Program
    • Testimonials
  • Virtual Services
  • Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning Basics
    • Last Will and Testament
    • Revocable Living Trusts
    • Durable Power of Attorney
    • Medical Power of Attorney
    • Living Will
    • Family Estate Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning & Asset Protection
    • Kids Safety Plan™
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Guardianship
      • Guardianship Planning
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Legacy Preservation Planning
    • Asset Protection
    • Trusts
    • Pet Trusts
    • Gun Trusts
  • Probate
    • Texas Probate Guide
    • Probate of a Will
    • Texas Affidavit of Heirship
    • Texas Small Estate Affidavit
    • Texas Heirship Determination
    • Texas Muniment of Title
    • Trust Administration
  • Family Law
    • Divorce
    • Collaborative Divorce
    • Mediation
    • Custody / Visitation
  • Blog
  • FAQs
    • FAQs – Videos
    • FAQs – Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Beyond Money in Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Divorce and Estate Planning FAQs and Myths
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Newlyweds Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Young Adults
    • FAQs – The Estate Planning Cast of Characters
    • FAQs – Expecting an Inheritance
    • FAQs – Myths and FAQs – Planning for Conflict Prone Families
    • FAQs – New and Expanding Families
    • FAQs – Pet Trusts
    • FAQs – Probate
    • FAQs – Standalone Retirement Trust Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Trust Modifications
    • FAQs – Unwinding Obsolete Planning
    • FAQs – Why You Want to Avoid Probate
    • FAQs – Year-End Planning Myths and FAQs
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Caution: Writing Your Own Deed to Avoid Probate Can Lead to Unintended Consequences

April 3, 2014 By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.

One common way to avoid probate of real estate after the owner dies is to hold the title to the property in joint names with rights of survivorship with children or other beneficiaries.  This is accomplished by adding the names of the children and certain legal terms to a new deed for the property and then recording it in the applicable public land records. 

Many people believe that they do not need to pay an attorney to help them prepare and record the new deed.  Instead, they think that a deed form can simply be downloaded from the internet or obtained from a book that can then be easily filled out and recorded.  But deeds are in fact legal documents that must comply with state law in order to be valid.  In addition, in most states, property will not pass to the other owners listed in a deed without probate unless certain specific legal terms are used in the deed.

How is a Defective Deed or an Invalid Deed Corrected?

If the problems with a defective deed or an invalid deed are discovered before the owner dies, then the problems can be addressed by preparing and recording a “corrective deed” in the applicable public land records.  This should only be done with the assistance of an attorney.

Unfortunately, many times the problems with a defective deed or an invalid deed are not discovered until after the owner dies.  If this is the case, then the problems cannot be fixed with a corrective deed since the deceased owner is unable to sign the corrective deed.  Instead, the property will most likely need to be probated in order to fix the problems with the title.  Aside from probate taking time and costing money for legal fees and court expenses, until the problems with the title are sorted out in probate court, heirs will not be able to sell the property.  Or, worse yet, the property may be inherited by someone the owner had intended to disinherit when they prepared and recorded their own deed.

What Should You Do?

If you want to add your children or other beneficiaries to your deed in order to avoid probate, and you think you can save a few bucks by using a form you find on the internet or in a book, think again.  Deeds are legal documents that have very specific requirements and are governed by different laws in each state (in other words, a deed that is valid in New York may not necessarily be valid in Florida).

If you want your home or other real estate to pass to your children or other beneficiaries without probate, then seek the advice of an attorney who is familiar with the probate and real estate laws of the state where your property is located. This will insure that the deed will be valid and your property will in fact avoid probate and pass to your intended heirs.

Filed Under: Estate Planning Tagged With: Mistakes, Probate, Real Estate

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