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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Pay your sisters!
Dad's will provided that his wife would have a life estate in 200 acres of Buffalo County, Nebraska real estate. Smart move as that meant that the full value of the real estate was not in her estate for Medicaid purposes. In fact, the Unicameral closed this loophole in 2017 but there are still ways for mom to qualify for Medicaid without becoming impoverished.
Dad's will also provided that his son had a remainder interest in the real estate subject to paying 40% of the appraised value to his sisters. There was an equitable lien on the real estate too if the brother didn't pay his sisters. After Dad died and his will probated, a Deed of ...
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