If you have previously had an estate planning trust prepared, check your deeds to make sure all of your real estate is deed into the name of your trust. The number one pitfall of the revocable living trust is failing to deed your property to it. Your trust only governs the property it owns.
If you do not have a trust, you should check the status of your deed. In nevada, I have seen many deeds prepared for a married couple as “husband and wife.” In other words, no “right of survivorship.” In nevada, even married couples, must hold property as “joint tenants with right of survivorship” or it is presumed that you hold the property as tenants in common. Therein lies the problem.
I get about one new probate case a month where a widowed spouse is seeking to sell their home only to find out that their deceased spouse is a tenant in common. Ths means that we must go through the hassle of a Nevada probate simply because a deed did not say “with right of survivorship.”
Although I will often suggest a revocable living trust, it is also important to be sure your real estate is properly titled.
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