Transfer on death deed

[Boog]

Larry Davis mentioned this just last week with his mom's recent passing and raised my curiosity.
My mom passed away this past saturday. After dad's passing 2 years ago mom worked real hard at getting all her affairs "in order" so we 3 kids wouldn't be burdened with having to deal with any of it. She sold dad's 40 ford project and later I sold her Caddy last year leaving her with just the pickup and home. Mom has labeled a lot of things with family member's names to whom she wanted to leave certain things. She had me already take a few tools and such of dad's to be sure I got them. A couple of days before she passed she could no longer speak so she wrote me a note reminding me to be sure to get that WW2 military issued hatchet.
My sisters have agreed with me to hold off getting together for a couple of weeks to go over mom's things. I don't want her house disturbed just yet. Though mom was very aware of how the probate works and had first hand experience with it I am not sure she knew about this "transfer on death" deed. I'm not sure she even has a written will though she knew the importance of it. In my family it's considered personal business and we don't ask each other about such things. Mom was very sharp minded right to the end. She is an Angel in my eyes.

[dondb]

TOD is a perfect legal and less expensive way to transfer an asset and for go probate court. Rather do a TOD arrangement instead of paying a lawyer to create a Trust. Probate can be a pita and from my perspective and leaves the government to divvy up things.

God Bless your Mom and many wonderful memories.

[truckster]

Utah just passed this law last year. It looks like it might be a good option, but at least under Utah law you need to be really sure, because they're hard to revoke.

[davischevy]

My mother had a will, but it was not notarized. Two of the witnesses are still alive, so now I have to get them to sign an affidavit, that they did in fact sign the will.

We are going to have to probate her house, and it is a lot easier with a will, but it is still going to cost six or seven thousand dollars.

She had her Edward Jones account set up to Transfer on Death.

Sorry to hear about your mother Boog.

[Boog]

Thank you Larry.
It's a heck of a thing to find out after the fact if mom did not have it taken care of. Nothing we can do about it now if she didn't. We'll find out in a couple of weeks.
Mom passed very peacefully. I don't know if I told you but she was doing pretty good until 3 weeks ago when she had a clot move on her and caused a seizure. She passed out in the kitchen and fell striking her head on the fridge bottom door hinge. She would have bled to death if she hadn't been able to use her cell phone. It looked like a crime scene. In the proceeding days she began having more clots move and was finally bedridden. That's the scary part of elders living alone. A fall can take them out at any time.

[cornerstone]

Hey there Boog. Really sorry for the heartache you and your family are going through at the moment. I was in the same position as you, after my awesome mom went home, and learned something that may help you. If your mom had zero debt, only assets, you can file for "Muniment of Title" and not have to go through the probate process. I was quoted 2500. from a local attorney to handle the process. The main benefit is a reduction in cost to divide the estate. This may be a state of Texas thing, but I suggest you look into this if it applies to your families situation. Maybe this is the same thing as TOD? I too stand at the flag and kneel at the cross my friend. God bless.

[flashed]

Boog , so sorry for your loss , I hope everything works out easily for you and your family . I really dread when my Mother N Law passes on , she is almost 94 and still lives alone for now . My Brother N Laws already smell money and since my wife has already passed Im the Bad Guy .

[Boog]

Thank you fellas. I will inquire about these things. While my sisters and I aren’t greedy folks I am ashamed to admit there are others in the family who look like vultures in wait.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by Boog

I am ashamed to admit there are others in the family who look like vultures in wait.

I think every family has them. Now....if we could only get them to be ashamed of themselves we might make some progress

[davischevy]

I have two sisters and a brother, and I am very proud of them.

We have worked through this fairly easily. We started with the small valuables, divided them into equal valued, numbered lots and drew for the lots.

She had a nice low mileage SUV. We all had an interest in owning it, so we determined a price then drew for it. One sis got the car and the others each got that amount from her checking account.

Her brokerage account was set up to distribute to all of us equally, and her house will distribute equally when it sells.

[68Timber]

So sorry to hear about it Jim. God bless y'all.

[Boog]

Thank you John. I know you have already been through this.

[Liz]

Please accept our deepest condolences. I am so sorry you all are having to go through this.

[v30crewcab]

sorry man. I lost my dad Jan 7th. not easy to deal with at all.

[Coley]

Very sorry to hear about your loss, it appears you are taking it well in stride.

As for the Transfer or Death thing...I've never heard of this. Is this a document or process? Is this something the family puts into motion upon the passing of their parent?

My wife is just finishing up being the executor for a fairly large estate (7 figures) and the older gentleman who passed made sure he had an airtight will...notarized, registered, updated, etc. etc which has made things easier for her.
However, the amount of work that she has had to put into this has been surprising...even with a very solid will.

These events can sometimes bring out the worst in people who decide to get greedy and you never know who that might be...family, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. The stories out there are endless so hopefully your process goes relatively smoothly.

Regards & Condolences,
Coley

[davischevy]

A Transfer on Death Deed is just that. I transfers ownership of real property to the bearer at the death of the previous owner. It negates the need to probate.

In my case I had everything set up to transfer from my mother except her house. She had a will, but the house still has to go through probate.

At one time my dad had all our names on their deed. Just before he died they bought by far the nicest house they had ever owned, and my mother got a burr under her saddle and wouldn't put us on the deed. LOL I could have done the TOD and this would have been a cake walk.

The neighbors sister wants the house, and the attorney says we can go ahead and sell it and the money will go into escrow until the probate is over.

[nds1968]

Sorry for your loss.

I may be wrong but a down side to the TOD is that of you sell the house you have to pay gains on the original purchase price and not the price at the time of death. So if the original price was $16,000 but now the house is worth $116,000 you'll have to pay taxes on the $100,000.

Hope this makes sense, had a financial teacher touch briefly on it last week in class. His mother did a TOD and he wished she hadn't done that because of the gain taxes he'll have to pay when he sells the house that she bought for $16,000.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by nds1968

Sorry for your loss.

I may be wrong but a down side to the TOD is that of you sell the house you have to pay gains on the original purchase price and not the price at the time of death. So if the original price was $16,000 but now the house is worth $116,000 you'll have to pay taxes on the $100,000.

Hope this makes sense, had a financial teacher touch briefly on it last week in class. His mother did a TOD and he wished she hadn't done that because of the gain taxes he'll have to pay when he sells the house that she bought for $16,000.

Wow...that's really interesting...and really key, at least it would be around these parts.
Houses in our neck of the woods are all well over $500k...with a lot pushing near $1Mil.....whereas originally back in the 90's they were probably bought for anywhere between $150-$300k.
So that is a lot of 'Capital Gains' on the value...and paying tax on $500K would be a real drag around here, lol.

All good
Coley

[Thealien]

My condolences, sorry for your loss. My Mom has been gone 20 years but my dad is 90 and forgetful but drives and pay his own bills. He does fall down about once a week, today was a good one but he is a tough old bastard but I fear a fall will eventually do him in! He put me on the deed 10 or so years ago to avoid probate. A lawyer friend took care of everything but I don't know?

Again sorry.