Once again today we were asked for a Beneficiary Deed Form. Once again we respectfully and politely declined to provide one.
Why not? Several reasons, but primarily because we don’t want somebody filling in the blanks incorrectly, or not understanding precisely what they are doing. We simply refuse to be a part of that.
Real Estate is often the most valuable thing that someone owns. Transferring it on death involves many, many considerations which are often not readily apparent. We just think it’s a really bad idea not to understand precisely what is going on when a beneficiary deed is prepared and recorded. We’ve seen too many bad results. We’ve seen too many people trying to save a few bucks who actually cost their family thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands.
We are not so naive as to think that you aren’t going to find a form somewhere. You will. If you insist on doing it yourself we can’t stop you. We just hope you’ll think twice about getting professional advice.
To be certain, Beneficiary Deeds are valuable tools when used correctly. Knowing when and how to do so is the key.
