Even if you own your residence with a spouse, you need to show a transfer of ownership upon your death to ensure that your residence is Willed to your heirs. Without naming your property in your Will you run the risk of the courts dividing your home or even selling it to pay down debts. Therefore, consider these three methods for transferring the ownership of your personal residence to your heirs through your Will.
Testamentary Gift
This is done by a Will after your death and directly leaves the property to one or multiple heirs depending on your wishes. These heirs can be your spouse, children or even friends.
Testamentary Trust
This type of gifting is done when you leave your personal residence to one or more heirs in a Trust that is established after your death.
Life Estate
You can leave your personal residence to a family member or friend for the remainder of their life and then leave directions where the personal residence will go after that heir passes away. This is the perfect solution if you want to leave your personal residence to your spouse, but then ensure that your children inherit the property after your spouseâs death.
There are numerous ways to gift a personal resident; therefore, meet with your estate planning attorney today to discuss what your options are for gifting your family home.
To learn more, please download our Should you justify your estate to heirs report for free here.
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