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Posts Tagged ‘revocable trust’
Transferring Real Estate Title
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
When you own property in another state, the only way that you can avoid probate proceedings is to prepare and record a new deed that will transfer the title to include joint owners. These owners may be your beneficiaries such as your spouse and children. You can also transfer the title to a revocable trust or to entities like partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.
When out-of-state real estate’s title is transferred to a trust, the title will not be held by an individual but by a trustee. So even when the individual dies, the trust will still continue. Same thing for transferring to an entity - it’s the entity that holds the real estate title and not the decedent.
While these are simple procedures, there are a few downsides to a joint ownership. Any lease, mortgage, sale, or other transactions that involve the property require unanimous consent of every owner. Another disadvantage is this: the interest of any joint tenant is exposed to creditors’ claims.
And if your property is a pied-a-terr in Paris or an island villa in Antigua, you need to consider estate tax systems and probate in foreign countries. Therefore, your attorney needs to work with a lawyer in a foreign jurisdiction for proper coordination and inclusion of the property in your estate plan.
Tags: attorney, estate plan, joint owners, lawyer, probate, property, revocable trust, tax systems, transfer title, trust, trustee
Posted in Estate Planning, Family Trust | No Comments »
Lessons from Michael Jackson
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Before he died, it’s a good thing that Michael Jackson made a smart estate plan. He provided and cared for his loved ones because a separate document gathered his assets (estimated to be over $500 million, which exceeds his debt by $200 million). It’s called a family trust - this ensures that his affairs would stay out of court and out of the eyes of the public.
He established this trust along with his will, and it’s also called a “living or revocable trust.” The goal of this estate-planning tool would be to transfer all the property - including real estate, bank accounts, and cars - into a separate owned entity while maintaining the control as a trustee. In Jackson’s case, he established a “Michael Jackson Family Trust.”
At his death, the control will be transferred to his successor trustee or co-trustee. Most people (Jackson included) will set it up to “pour over” - this means that whatever assets remain outside of the trust would be eventually be added to the estate at their death.
The beauty of this trust is: people can avoid a public process called probate. Aside from celebrities, this process would also make sense for people with significant assets because it would spare their heirs from a prolonged legal process.
Tags: assets, co-trustee, estate plan, Family Trust, legal, living trust, Michael Jackson, probate, revocable trust, successor trustee, trust, trustee, will
Posted in Family Trust | No Comments »