Best Ways to Pass Your Out-of-State Vacation Home

Many people have vacation homes in other states that they want to pass down to their loved ones by including the homes in their wills. While this strategy might be an option, it might not be the simplest way to ensure your family inherits your vacation home after you pass away. When you have an out-of-state vacation home that you leave to your family in a will, they will need to go through the probate process in both your home state and the state in which your vacation home is located. There are other ways to leave your vacation home to your loved ones outside of a will that can help them avoid the probate process and the time and monetary expenses involved with it. Here is some information about how to pass an out-of-state vacation home to your loved ones from Fort Lauderdale estate planning attorney Rhonda D. Zimmerman, Esq.

Use a Revocable Trust

You can create and modify a revocable living trust while you remain alive when your beneficiaries or assets change. You can place all of your assets in the trust if you want. Placing your vacation home in your trust can help your family members avoid probate, and you can also place money in the trust and earmark it for the maintenance of your vacation home.

Create an Irrevocable Trust

Another option is to create an irrevocable trust. Unlike a revocable trust, this type of trust can’t be changed after it is created. You can place your vacation home in an irrevocable trust. When you do so, the ownership of the home will transfer to the trust and remove it from the value of your estate. This might be an option if you have a high net worth and are concerned about potential estate taxes.

Create a Limited Liability Company

Another option is to create a limited liability company (LLC) and include your home as one of the company’s assets. This helps to avoid probate while also preventing you or your loved ones from losing other assets beyond the vacation home if the LLC is sued. This might be a good option if you rent your vacation home out to others.

Transfer the Home by Deed

You can transfer a vacation home directly to an intended beneficiary by deed if it is located in a state that allows transfer-on-death deeds for real property. However, if you have several children, problems might arise concerning decisions about what they want to do with the home.

Joint Tenancy

You can also create a joint tenancy deed with the right to survivorship. When you die, the joint tenant will assume complete ownership of the home. However, this can lead to issues with how the home might be used or maintained.

Get Help From a Fort Lauderdale Estate Planning Attorney

If you have an out-of-state vacation home, you should talk to an experienced Fort Lauderdale estate planning attorney at the Law Offices of Rhonda D. Zimmerman, Esq. We can help you to understand how to best handle your home while avoiding probate. Call us today to schedule an appointment at (954) 822-7566.