We have blogged several times about Missouri Beneficiary Deeds — the good, the bad, and the ugly. We ran into a new situation today. A divorced dad died a few months ago and left his house to 19 year old Molly, his only child, through a beneficiary deed. We offered to help her with “getting…
I got a call the other day from Larry. Larry is very concerned that his mother’s trust will be challenged. Mom’s second husband died several years back. Mom and her second husband each had their own children from their first marriages. At the time of the second husband’s death his children received what amounted to his assets and property. Larry’s Mom then…
Beneficiary Deeds are a handy and valuable tool. Used properly, they transfer ownership of real estate instantly and automatically upon the death of the person or persons who created the deed, bypass probate, and they are relatively inexpensive. So — why doesn’t everybody use them all the time? The simple answer is — everything has a time…
A “Pour Over” will is a document that is used as a supporting document in a Trust Based Estate Plan. Trust based plans rely on “funding” or “retitling” of your assets, property, bank accounts, etc. A Pour Over Will is a backup instrument that is intended to take care of anything that was not funded properly,…
New and young parents often have several things in common. They often have a home with relatively little equity, and very little else. Hopefully they have a decent job or jobs, and decent prospects for advancement. When they think about estate planning they often just worry about naming a guardian for their children – which…