Without Deed’s Joint Tenancy, Estate Ends up in Probate

We help many clients transfer Deeds—it’s generally a simple process that we can accomplish quickly, sometimes in a day. The following example highlights the importance of what is called vesting, or the way in which title to a Deed is held. It seems like a small thing, but a Deed is the legal document that identifies the property owner. Without the title, it is impossible to buy or sell a home. And as our client discovered, she also couldn’t update her Living Trust. This is a cautionary tale, and unfortunately, we see this kind of situation all too often.
“Sandra” came in to our office to update her Living Trust—something we recommend that people do periodically, with important life events. A physical therapist, Sandra had moved to the Bay Area from Boston ten years earlier to be closer to her mother, her daughter and grandchildren. She and her mother had bought a cottage in Oakland together, and she was delighted to be there for both her mother and daughter at this point in her life.

Sandra quickly adapted to life in the Bay Area

She found a great job, made new friends and loved the Bay Area weather. She’d invested in a stock that was doing very well, had purchased a life insurance policy and had welcomed a new granddaughter into the family. The only sad note was that her 80-year old mother had died the winter before after a relatively short battle with cancer. These were all circumstances that prompted her to update her Living Trust.

We ran into problems when we got to her Oakland home

We began updating Sandra’s Trust, but ran into problems with her home. The Deed didn’t state that she and her mother were “joint tenants”, which meant that full title didn’t automatically pass to Sandra when mom died. The result: 50% of the property—the half that her mother had owned–would now have to go through Probate to determine ownership. Sandra would have to go through Probate before she could update her Living Trust.

About Joint Tenancy

Joint tenancy works well when couples (married or not) acquire real estate or other valuable property together. When one joint owner dies, the surviving owner(s) automatically gets the deceased owner’s share of the joint tenancy property. This automatic transfer to the survivor is called the “right of survivorship.” The property doesn’t go through Probate court.
Generally, the new owner fills out a straightforward form and presents it, along with the death certificate of the deceased owner, to the county clerk to generate a new Deed, with its vesting revisited.
If you have questions about updating your Deed, contact DP Legal Solutions or call to schedule an appointment: 510.346.5686. Changing title on a Deed is a small thing that can ultimately save significant time and money. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guardianship Case Study: An Intervention for the Best Interests of the Child

Image
These days, it’s not unusual for grandparents to end up raising their grandchildren. They take on this responsibility for a number of reasons—but in many cases it means that their sons or daughters are, at least temporarily, unable to care for their own children. An intervention: Daughter unable to provide a stable home for child Several months ago one such couple, Joe and Sarah, came in to our office seeking more information about getting a Guardianship for their ten-year old granddaughter, Zoe. As their only grandchild, they’d always been very close to Zoe, and now they were concerned about her wellbeing. Zoe lived with her single mother, Sandra, our clients’ daughter, who had been in and out of rehab facilities but was never able to remain clean and sober or hold a job for an extended period of time. Joe and Sarah were concerned about the lack of stability and consistency for Zoe; they were also concerned about the constant exposure to drugs, alcohol and Sandra’s friends....
Read more

Estate Planning: Choose an Executor with Time and a Wide Range of Skills

Image
When it comes to estate planning, choosing an Executor should be an important part of the process, not an afterthought. Depending on the complexity of the estate, it can be a time-consuming, demanding responsibility, and the person who assumes this role should have a broad range of skills and be comfortable working with lawyers, accountants and investment professionals. The Executor’s role  Executors are responsible for settling estates. Families most often name one of their children to act as Executor, but it can be the family’s attorney or a fiduciary. A financial institution, trust company or bank may also serve as co-Executors with an individual, such as the decedent’s spouse, child, advisor or other person. An Executor performs five basic functions:  Locates, collects and has responsibility for the estate’s assets until they are distributed to the beneficiaries. Determines and raises the cash needs for the estate. Pays the decedent’s funeral expenses, debts ...
Read more

Merit-Based Immigration Visas and the Trump Administration

Image
Family-based immigrant visas could become much more difficult to acquire if the “merit based immigration bill” proposed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party were to become law. Under the proposed merit-based visa category, an alien would accrue points based on age, education, work experience, family ties in the United States and other attributes. Alien applicants with the highest overall points in a year would be given Green Cards. The merit-based system divides applicants evenly between two tiers: Tier 1:  Skilled workers—those who qualify for jobs that require extensive training and education. Tier 2:  Medium to low-skilled workers—those who qualify for jobs that require a medium to low amount of preparation. The new merit-based immigration system is designed for those who can quickly adapt to life in the US, find well-paying jobs to support themselves and their families and pay taxes. It will weed out those who require extensive assistance with housing and la...
Read more