As you assemble your estate plan, you know you want to leave your home to beneficiaries. How could a trust help you do so?
SFGATE explains how you may ensure your heirs become legal owners of your main residence when you die. Learn how to use estate planning tools to reassure yourself and your loved ones.
Gift property to your trust
While drafting your trust documents, name yourself as trustee and your heirs as beneficiaries. Then, sign deeds as your home’s owner to gift the residence to your trust. To successfully leave your home to heirs, it must be your primary residence, have a standard home loan attached and have no more than five units in it.
Do what you wish with your home
Do not worry about anything happening to your home once you place it in a trust. While you may use your residence as you see fit, consider establishing a successor trustee to replace you as trustee when you die.
Know that your trust endures
When you die, your home does not qualify for probate as long as it remains in your trust. You may leave instructions for your successor trustee regarding your desires for the home, such as passing it on to your beneficiaries. If you worry about your property qualifying for the estate tax, you may place it in an irrevocable trust. That way, not only do your benefactors not need to worry about the estate tax, but creditors cannot lay claim to anything in your irrevocable trust.
You likely made a lot of fond memories in your home and have more to make in the coming years. With the right trust and estate planning strategy, you protect those memories and the home you made them in.