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Real Estate

Do your parents have an estate plan?

parents estate plan
Happy family watching television on sofa at home

If you find yourself in the “sandwich generation” (someone who is caring for both your children as well as your parents simultaneously), you need to know whether or not your parents have put together an estate plan. While it is still your parent’s choice to make estate planning decisions, having a plan — no matter how late in life it is created — is an absolute must.

The thought of speaking with your parents about their finances and estate planning probably makes you want to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Nonetheless, having this conversation is the key to helping make sure your parents are able to live their golden years without financial worries and that their wishes are carried out after their death.

Estate Planning for Your Parents

Talking about the future with your parents — including their estate matters, finances, and memorial wishes — is one of the most important conversations you can have with them. And, the earlier you address this, the better off all of you will be. Below are some key topics you need to discuss with your parents to make sure their estate planning is in proper order:

  • A team effort: If your parents have legal and financial professionals that help with their matters, make sure to get a full list of these individuals’ contact information. You should also have the contact information of your parents’ doctors, in the event end-of-life decisions need to be made for them.
  • Last will and testament and a trust: If your parents do not have a will written up, they likely do not have any other estate planning documents. If they do have wills in place make sure to confirm how long ago they were drafted, who the executor will be, and where the original documents are located. A trust may also be appropriate depending on your parent’s circumstances and wishes. Stress to them that you do not need to read the terms, but that you should know where they are so you can help ensure their wishes are carried out.
  • Advanced directives: Make sure your parents have living wills and powers of attorney so that someone will be able to make decisions on their behalf if they are unable to do so. Also ensure you understand their respective feelings about end-of-life decisions, such as life support, and how their financial and medical affairs should be handled should they become incapacitated.
  • Insurance policies: Find out what insurance policies your parents have and where the policies are located in the event one or both become incapacitated. This includes knowing about health insurance (private or Medicare), life insurance, homeowners, auto insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care policies.
  • Financial and investment accounts: Your parents should also consider compiling a list of their brokerage, bank, and mutual fund accounts as well as the account numbers. This will make things easier if someone needs to step in and assist with financial matters due to their death or incapacity.

Why Estate Planning Matters

Failing to put together an estate plan often leads to chaos, unnecessary costs and taxes, potential hurt feelings, delays in distribution of assets, and even unexpected outcomes after death.  For example, if your parents hold some assets in joint tenancy with a child who lives nearby but does not include other children, the distribution of the asset becomes distorted. When joint tenancy is used instead of an estate planning tool like a trust, adult children left behind will be offended as a result of the parents’ asset distribution.

Do not let fear or discomfort keep you from sitting down and having this important estate planning conversation with your parents. As estate planning attorneys, we can give you and your parents advice on what options are available to them so that their wishes are followed upon their death.

If you would like to create or update your estate plan, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

Caution: Writing Your Own Deed to Avoid Probate Can Lead to Unintended Consequences

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.