A common question people begin to ask as they grow older is how should they go about leaving their assets to their children, grandchildren, or other surviving loved ones in their lives. This is a natural curiosity, as we certainly want to ensure that the people we care about receive what we own after we are no longer around to use those assets. At the Law Offices of Jorge L. Gonzalez, P.A. in Doral, FL, we specialize in family law cases, and our expert estate planning attorney can help you make the right decision regarding how to handle passing on your property to your heirs. With this information, you’ll know the best choice for you when it comes to leaving property to heirs.
Why Speak with an Attorney?
If you aren’t going to Court, you might be curious about why you should talk with a lawyer when it comes to handling your property. There are a few good reasons: for one, an attorney can give you an unbiased opinion on your situation. For some families, the decision of who inherits what can be a sensitive topic that inspires conflict. With an impartial attorney, you can bypass some of this and also get a professional opinion where you may feel some bias to certain members of your family. Additionally, there are a lot of complicated details regarding these types of decisions, and a professional attorney can help break your options down in a way that better helps you make the best decision for your heirs.
Leaving Property To Heirs: Pros and Cons
There are several different ways you can go about leaving your property behind, and each has its own set of pros and cons you’ll want to think about. This is a basic overview of your options and their pros and cons:
- Joint Ownership with Your Heir
- This decision helps your heir inherit the property immediately upon your death. Because they’ll be a joint owner of the home, though, you’ll need to have their consent should you want to do something like sell your home.
- Deed Your Home to Your Heir
- This is largely the same as joint ownership. The main difference comes in the proceeds you’re entitled to. When you deed your home, you’ll only be entitled to a small percentage where a joint ownership is more likely to be about half.
- Give Your Home to Your Heir
- This is the easiest solution for your heir, but it also means they’ll own your property for the remainder of your life. You also lose your Florida homestead exemption as well.
- Consider a Lady Bird Deed
- This kind of deed helps your heir inherit your property after your death, but retains your control over the estate. Not all lenders will do this though, and it could make your home harder to sell should you want to.
- Place Your Home in a Revocable Living Trust
- This is much like the lady bird deed, however, it won’t be as difficult to sell your home should you decide to. Refinancing it, however, may be more difficult.
- Don’t Do Anything
- You can always opt to not do anything. Your children will likely inherit the property, though only after the estate goes through probate.
Contact Us for an Estate Planning Attorney
If you have any more questions about leaving property to heirs, then contact us at the Law Offices of Jorge L. Gonzalez, P.A. We can help answer your further questions. If you live around the Doral, FL area, then our estate planning attorney can help you in person make the best decisions regarding your property.