Maybe you want probate. Maybe you want the court procedures involving a judge. But know that it usually means at least a year until your heirs get their money. And also know that significant attorney's fees will be part of the process.
A high-profile Omaha personal injury attorney passed away recently. He owned over two million dollars worth of Douglas County real estate in his own name. His estate is headed for county court. Again, maybe that's what he wanted. But my view is that his heirs would have been better served with a revocable living trust. It's quicker and the attorney's fees to administer the estate are way less. ...
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A trap for the unwary: Adding children to a deed.
It is so easy to add a child as an owner of real estate. Just get a deed online and file it with the Register of Deeds. People think that this is a good thing, but all sorts of unintended bad things can happen. 1. If the pre-existing owner is admitted into a nursing home within five years of the transfer, the conveyance can be used to delay Medicaid eligibility. The gift is without consideration and DHHS doesn't look kindly on that. The really bad part of this is that a person's home is exempt when applying for Medicaid. 2. The child is now an owner and that asset is subject to the claims of the child's creditors. All sorts of bad things can ...
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Epic Sandhills Ranch Family Feud
William and Meredith Zutavern had four children: Shawn, Shayne, Kelly and Maria. They owned 22,000 acres of Sandhills real estate where they had a cattle ranch.
William created a revocable trust in 2008. He died in 2011. Meredith was the successor trustee. At the time of William's death, two trusts were created. One trust (the Family Trust) would be funded in the maximum tax free amount under the federal estate tax. The other trust was solely for the benefit of his wife and was her property absolutely. The Family Trust would pay Meredith income for her life.
Although not exactly clear from the opinion, the real estate and cattle were ...
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