There are specific legal documents that people tend to associate with estate planning. Wills, trust documents, advance medical directives and powers of attorney are all common inclusions in estate plans.
Deeds are also potentially valuable for people with real property holdings. Frequently, people developing estate plans name beneficiaries to inherit their homes in their wills. Others might use trusts to achieve similar outcomes. Occasionally, a deed can be an effective means of addressing real property and its transfer to a selected beneficiary after the current owner dies.
Deeds can help keep homes out of probate court
Houses and other real property holdings transferred via wills typically pass through probate court. Real estate holdings transferred to trusts while the owners are still alive do not necessarily need to pass through probate court, but there are drawbacks to making a trust the owner of real property in some cases.
Transfer-on-death deeds help by ensuring the ownership of the testator until their passing while also keeping the property out of probate court after they die. Homeowners who sign transfer-on-death deeds prior to their passing can ensure that the right party inherits the home without creditors trying to lay claim to the equity or other people disputing the arrangement.
The beneficiary can take the deed to the county recorder’s office along with identification and the death certificate to assume ownership of the property. Proper storage of a transfer-on-death deed is critical to ensuring that it serves its purpose after the homeowner dies.
Adding a variety of different documents to an estate plan can help people preserve their resources and control their legacy. Deeds can be valuable additions to other estate planning paperwork when testators own real property.