Quote:
Originally Posted by MsSurfer
A friend in Maryland has been having difficulty for several years trying to transfer title of real estate located in Indian Lake Estates, Polk County. Original owners (parents) passed many years ago. She claims she has given the County all the documents requested over the past several years, but now the County has advised her any changes to title requires Florida probate. Can anyone recommend a lawyer or offer advice on what is required or where to start on getting title transferred? Any help or suggestions are appreciated, thank you.
|
Tell her to Google ‘Affidavit of Heirship’ and name the relevant state. An Affidavit is acceptable for non-court transfer of real estate in most states. She would state her relationship and the deceased family history. It normally requires supporting Affidavits by two other people who knew the family line and state how they know the family, state the relationships within the family & confirm the original Affidavit. Those Affidavits get filed in the deed section of the County & no Probate is required for that Real Estate.
An alternative is an enhanced Lady Bird Deed to be completed by one who wants to state in the property deed the recipient of the real estate after owner’s death. It can be used by husband & wife stating who (or plural) they are transferring their real estate to after the death of the last of the two spouses (death of surviving spouse).
Using that ‘enhanced deed’ & putting Pay On Death (POD) on your bank accounts and a Transfer on Death Death on investments, and you are set. No probate and many states have DMV forms (Affidavit of Heirship for a motor vehicle).
Trusts are as good as the understanding, honesty and care of the Trustee. If you use that, have them include a Trust Protector. Be aware, they can be decanted by the Trustee without oversight, and often assets are missed & not part of the trust and trustees often fail to complete annual audits. It is also a closed form of transfer, so is vulnerable to changes not intended by the creator. Decanting (move assets to another trust) is fairly easy for a trustee to do, without knowledge of the Trustor; a Trust Protector is an available safety feature.