My mom transferred many assets to me over several years. It was the house and some other property that had passed from mother to daughter since 1853. In the end dad had a will - straightforward and easy to settle.
Trusts are for titled property and investments like real estate and investment accounts. The ownership of those items will be changed to the be in the name of the trust rather than in the individual's name, such as changing it from John and Betty Smith, joint tenants with right of survivorship, to The John and Betty Smith Family Trust.
Wills are more for "I want Susie to have Great-Grandma Betty's gold necklace" stuff. If you have a trust, you'll probably have a will, too, and if you just want your survivors to split up everything equally, that's about the gist of what the will would say. My parents' wills left everything to the other, and the survivor leaves everything to my brother and I 50/50. There are no specifically bequeathed items in the will.
However, if the house is just going to go to the bank because of that reverse mortgage, then I'd think you'd just skip that and do a will. I'd consult a trust and estate attorney to get the skinny on what's best to do, because I think you want to avoid probate when there's a house involved. I just don't know what's the best thing to do when a reverse mortgage is involved.
You'd probably be able to get a free consultation with a trust and estate attorney, or if you buy an hour of his time, it'll cost you about $350. (And for what it's worth, our trust -- which included the trust, wills for each of us, plus powers of attorney -- cost us $1500 in California. That included putting a house, two cars, and two limited liability corporations in the trust, so that's far more complicated (well, time-consuming at least) than what you're talking about.
A will is just fine, and so much less expensive. Trusts do cost, yes, 1,000s of dollars. Somewhere between two thousand and five thousand dependent on how complicated, and definitely not needed. Accounts can be made POD. Family can be added to car titles. Things can be made very simple. Wishing you good luck.
If she has a reversed mortgage, she is using up the equity. IMO they own the home in the end. When she dies, all that money will need to be paid back. So the house will need to be sold or turned over to the Mortgage people. That is what you need to find out what does she have left in terms of equity.
If all she has is her monthly income and a house you don't care about inheriting, I may not even do a Will. The house would be her biggest asset and that has a reversed mortgage on it. Not even sure you can do a Trust since she has a reversed mortgage. When she passes, someone can become an Administrator to handle her bank stuff and creditors. May be no Probate involved.
There is legal aid that works on scale, what she can afford. They maybe able to answer some of your questions. Call ur Office of Aging to see if they have a number.
A trust stops the assets from having to go through probate.
However, every state has a minimum/maximum estate value for having to file probate. You can get this information for your state by going to the Attorney General website and search non probate affidavit. This will help you understand how much money she can leave before the estate must go through probate. If her homes value exceeds the maximum allowable then a trust will save the hassle and expense of probate. I would recommend the vehicle be titled to one of her children now, because that has been a nightmare to deal with.
Please, everyone, keep up to date on this information, the new administration has changed the inheritance from 11.5 million to 1 million, meaning lots of changes in this area. It is very important to stay on top of this currently evolving situation. We will be paying for all of these "stimulus" packages with higher taxes on everything, including inheritance tax.
A 1 hr consult with an attorney would put her mind at rest. Some atty's do fairly inexpensive consults--ours was $750 for the initial, and as I did 90% of the work to pull together the needed info---only $750 at 'closing' and that covers a 1/2 hr consult each year, which we have not needed. We're selling our home and moving this year, so yes, we will have to change a few things.
FIL had a will. Dad and mother have a trust. It's all legal mumbo jumbo and a lot is just final wish instructions, as my parents had next to nothing. My FIL had surprisingly a LOT of money and investments. Go figure.
Does any one want the house? If no one wants the house I would think putting it in a trust would not be the thing to do. Does or will she need the money from the sale of the house to pay for her care? If so putting in a trust might make that more difficult. This might be a question for an Elder Care Attorney and discuss possible outcomes to each.
she did a reverse mortgage on her home. Unfortunately I think that was a mistake as she could have sold her home to help pay for assisted living, which we think she needs but she thinks otherwise. But she made this decision without consulting any of her children. As far as the home it can go to the bank , we don’t care.
Wills are more for "I want Susie to have Great-Grandma Betty's gold necklace" stuff. If you have a trust, you'll probably have a will, too, and if you just want your survivors to split up everything equally, that's about the gist of what the will would say. My parents' wills left everything to the other, and the survivor leaves everything to my brother and I 50/50. There are no specifically bequeathed items in the will.
However, if the house is just going to go to the bank because of that reverse mortgage, then I'd think you'd just skip that and do a will. I'd consult a trust and estate attorney to get the skinny on what's best to do, because I think you want to avoid probate when there's a house involved. I just don't know what's the best thing to do when a reverse mortgage is involved.
You'd probably be able to get a free consultation with a trust and estate attorney, or if you buy an hour of his time, it'll cost you about $350. (And for what it's worth, our trust -- which included the trust, wills for each of us, plus powers of attorney -- cost us $1500 in California. That included putting a house, two cars, and two limited liability corporations in the trust, so that's far more complicated (well, time-consuming at least) than what you're talking about.
If all she has is her monthly income and a house you don't care about inheriting, I may not even do a Will. The house would be her biggest asset and that has a reversed mortgage on it. Not even sure you can do a Trust since she has a reversed mortgage. When she passes, someone can become an Administrator to handle her bank stuff and creditors. May be no Probate involved.
There is legal aid that works on scale, what she can afford. They maybe able to answer some of your questions. Call ur Office of Aging to see if they have a number.
However, every state has a minimum/maximum estate value for having to file probate. You can get this information for your state by going to the Attorney General website and search non probate affidavit. This will help you understand how much money she can leave before the estate must go through probate. If her homes value exceeds the maximum allowable then a trust will save the hassle and expense of probate. I would recommend the vehicle be titled to one of her children now, because that has been a nightmare to deal with.
Please, everyone, keep up to date on this information, the new administration has changed the inheritance from 11.5 million to 1 million, meaning lots of changes in this area. It is very important to stay on top of this currently evolving situation. We will be paying for all of these "stimulus" packages with higher taxes on everything, including inheritance tax.
FIL had a will. Dad and mother have a trust. It's all legal mumbo jumbo and a lot is just final wish instructions, as my parents had next to nothing. My FIL had surprisingly a LOT of money and investments. Go figure.
This is something that is worth paying for.
If no one wants the house I would think putting it in a trust would not be the thing to do. Does or will she need the money from the sale of the house to pay for her care? If so putting in a trust might make that more difficult.
This might be a question for an Elder Care Attorney and discuss possible outcomes to each.