Estate planning includes all the planning that’s involved for setting up a will, a trust and making sure that your assets go to the people or organizations that you want to have them. Estate planning is complex — you should consider taxes when making plans for your assets to go to your heirs. If you don’t do estate planning you risk having your belongings managed by the state where you live, and your state’s laws may not match exactly what you want. Estate planning is especially important in blended families.
Setting Up Condo Association
Normally, condominium associations are not-for-profit corporations, and each state has specific guidelines regulating them. One guideline is to have a registered agent for the condominium association. If the condominium association is involved in litigation, the registered agent is the person who will receive the legal notice of the suit.
Bankruptcy Doesn’t Change Home Ownership
A reader had owned a home with her boyfriend prior to falling ill. Her boyfriend filed for bankruptcy and now claims she no longer has any interest in the home. Ilyce suggests she check with the bankruptcy court and check to see if the boyfriend has forged her name.
Life Estate On Home Could Lead To Gift Tax
Receiving a life estate in a home means the home belongs to you and you can do as you wish with the property, except for sell or transfer upon death of the holder. Giving someone a life estate could result in a gift tax. Talking with a real estate attorney should help determine a way to use a life estate without incurring a gift tax.
Paying Expenses After A Spouse’s Death
When your spouse dies with credit card debt, is it your responsibility to pay it off? It depends on whether the person who died had an estate with money to pay off the credit cards. If the deceased did not have an estate to pay off the debt it may fall to the spouse, depending on whose name was on the credit cards.
Retirement Investments And Estate Planning: Finding A Financial Advisor
There are several places to go to find a qualified financial advisor to help you decide on retirement investments and estate planning. Flat fee financial advisors who can assist you on decisions dealing with retirement investments and estate planning is through the Garret Planning Network. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors can give you a list of fee-only financial advisors who can help you make decisions on retirement investments and estate planning.
Transferring Deeds On Inherited Property
To divide multiple properties acquired through inheritance, the owners will have to have new deeds drafter. Each partywill have to sign each new deed, but the "grantee" on the deed will become the official new owner. Don't forget to hire an attorney to help you in drafting the deeds and in making sure that they get recorded with any additional documentation that is required of you.
Neighbor’s Home Sold By Resale Company
It is easy to be concerned about the value of your home. However, it is impossible to predict what the market will be like in three years, so you should not worry about the selling price of neighboring homes affecting your property value too much. The best thing you can do to raise your home value is to keep your house and landscaping in good order.
House Owned By LLC
If a house is owned by an LLC (limited liability company), the owner is that company. In owning a house, an LLC would be no different than a corporation owning the home. Just like a person, an LLC or a corporation can hold title to a house and other sorts of real estate.
Is Now The Time To Sell Real Estate?
With the real estate market softening, when is the best time to sell an investment property? Understanding the "real estate bubble" can help you make good decisions about your real estate investment. Holding out for a profit you expected to get on the investment could backfire.
Helping Mother With Estate Planning
A mother has a piece of land that is supposed to be left between her two children in her estate. One of her children and his wife use the property and keep their horses on it, so do they have a greater claim to the property? There are many unlikely requirements the brother and wife would have to meet to claim the land as theirs once it is in the estate.