Real Estate Archives - GP Schoemakers, PLLC

Do your parents have an 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 [...]

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 [...]