Estate planning help
Don't know if you can answer this. . I am 70 yo. .I have a FHA mortgage of $109000. I would like to put my 2 adult sons on my house so it is automatically theirs when I die. .I am donating my body to science. No funeral expense. .$12000 life ins for repairs on the house to sell.. .how do I get their names on the house and how bout a will?
Terry Says
OK, you need advice from an estate planning attorney for starters. The simplest thing, if you are planning to stay in your home, would likely be to create a Revocable Living Trust, and name one or both of your sons as "successor trustees." That way if anything happens to you -- either death of incapacity-- the successor trustee could step in and manage everything without a court order. Until then, you are in complete control over your home. After you create the trust, then your lawyer will change title to the house into the name of the trust. There is no tax consequence for doing this and it should only cost less than $100. Your trust will specify all the rest of your wishes for funeral arrangements, distribution of any other assets, etc. The lawyer will also create a Living Will -- describing your wishes for end-of-life care. And you should have a Healthcare Power of Attorney, likely given to one or both of your sons, to make decisions if you cannot. Your primary physician should have a copy of both of those documents. So your next question is finding a qualified estate planning attorney in your state of residence. If you are an Illinois resident I always recommend Janna Dutton and Associates (she did my mother's plan) at 312-899-0950 in Chicago. But if you live in another state, you can search at http://www.search-attorneys.com/, a website that specializes in locating estate planning attorneys.
