Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1841135)

The lady bird is a type of deed for the the property. It is not a trust. The advantage is that it is just a deed, and will potentially save money and time in lieu of paying a lawyer to set up a complicated trust for all of your assets.

When my mother died, I was her only heir and all of her property was held jointly by me and her, except for her house, which she had left to me in her will. So, I legally owned all of her property. But, I had to go to probate court, open an estate, advertise the estate, and wait six months before I could close the estate. The only reason I had to do this was because I could not sell the house. The title company would not transfer ownership to a buyer with just a will. They required a probated estate that legally transferred a clear title to me, even though I owned the house via the will. But, if she had a "lady bird" title, I would have received clear title to the house immediately upon her death and would not have needed to go through probate at all. I hope that makes sense.

Originally Posted by gpk111 (Post 1841215)

retiredguy: makes sense. If the LBT is just a titling change, wondering now how to accomplish that. Don't you need a lawyer to set up a LBT before you just change the title?

Originally Posted by dwsommer330 (Post 1840732)

My wife and I now own a house here in the Villages as well as in Michigan and plan to, at least for the next several years, be snowbirds. We currently have wills but not living trusts. It is my understanding that, should something happen to one of us, the Florida home (at least while we are Michigan residents) would have to go through probate which may be expensive and time consuming. As we are thinking of selling, and replacing, our Michigan residence, I think the time might also be right to create living trusts.

Here is my question — does anyone have experience with the execution (after a spouses or close relative’s death?) of an out-of-state living trust ? If so, was the out-of-state living trust recognized in Florida so as to avoid probate? Does the living trust really need to be drafted by a Florida attorney or are living trusts drafted by out of state attorneys just as good? Thanks in advance for your input

Originally Posted by dwsommer330 (Post 1840732)

My wife and I now own a house here in the Villages as well as in Michigan and plan to, at least for the next several years, be snowbirds. We currently have wills but not living trusts. It is my understanding that, should something happen to one of us, the Florida home (at least while we are Michigan residents) would have to go through probate which may be expensive and time consuming. As we are thinking of selling, and replacing, our Michigan residence, I think the time might also be right to create living trusts.

Here is my question — does anyone have experience with the execution (after a spouses or close relative’s death?) of an out-of-state living trust ? If so, was the out-of-state living trust recognized in Florida so as to avoid probate? Does the living trust really need to be drafted by a Florida attorney or are living trusts drafted by out of state attorneys just as good? Thanks in advance for your input

Originally Posted by manaboutown (Post 1840789)

You could hold the deed in joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS). That way when one dies the other owns the property without any need to go through probate.

Originally Posted by jaj523 (Post 1841315)

I was told by the closing agent on my house here in The Villages that the Florida equivalent of joint tenants with rights of survivorship is a "ladybird" clause. I executed that at closing, and the deed to my house goes directly to my two children upon my death with no fees or probate required.

Originally Posted by dwsommer330 (Post 1840732)

My wife and I now own a house here in the Villages as well as in Michigan and plan to, at least for the next several years, be snowbirds. We currently have wills but not living trusts. It is my understanding that, should something happen to one of us, the Florida home (at least while we are Michigan residents) would have to go through probate which may be expensive and time consuming. As we are thinking of selling, and replacing, our Michigan residence, I think the time might also be right to create living trusts.

Here is my question — does anyone have experience with the execution (after a spouses or close relative’s death?) of an out-of-state living trust ? If so, was the out-of-state living trust recognized in Florida so as to avoid probate? Does the living trust really need to be drafted by a Florida attorney or are living trusts drafted by out of state attorneys just as good? Thanks in advance for your input

Originally Posted by msu69er (Post 1841330)

My wife and I are also Michigan residents. We set up Revocable Living Trusts in 1995. We have amended the trusts six times since then for various reasons. In 2019 we bought in TV and are snowbirds. Our attorney told us that Revocable Living Trusts are recognized in 49 states regardless of where they were executed. This is because those 49 states are all based in English Common Law, same as US law. The other state, Louisiana, has its law based on French Common Law. Louisiana will not necessarily recognize Living Trusts written in any other state. We have the deeds to our properties in the name of both of our trusts. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by gpk111 (Post 1841327)

Interesting. Never heard of that being so common in FL. Would you mind sharing the name of the closing agent?

Two musings: Taxes and homesteading

TAXES - The consideration for both LBD and a trust would be capital gains taxes. In either of those cases, I'm guessing that the beneficiaries named in the LBD or trust would be responsible for full capital gains when sold.

If the home is passed on through a will, there is a step up in basis, so the beneficiaries pay no capital gains taxes.

HOMESTEADING - I'm guessing that Homesteading is possible with a LBD. I know it's possible with a Revocable Living Trust, since we currently have one.

Originally Posted by gpk111 (Post 1841337)

MSU: Thanks for the education. I assume the trust was originally created in Michigan?

Also, when you say "We have the deeds to our properties in the name of both of our trusts," I assume you mean that both properties are in your SINGLE trust. ...or did you creaye two trusts?

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1841340)

If you have a lady bird deed, you will retain your homestead exemption, and whomever receives the property when you die will benefit from a stepped up cost basis for capital gains taxes.

Originally Posted by msu69er (Post 1841342)

We created the trusts in Michigan in 1995. We each have a Revocable Living Trust. We leave things to each other. They are called A/B trusts. The benefit is that there is no inheritance tax when the first party dies regardless of the size of the trust assets.
The deeds to our houses are in the names of both trusts, i.e. instead of John and Jane Doe, it John Doe Living Trust dated May 15, 1995 and Jane Doe Living Trust dated May 15, 1995.