contactState lawmakers have been scrambling to catch up to changing trends in real estate over the last few years, especially with the popularization of home-sharing. Things are beginning to solidify, however, with a new statewide law addressing home-sharing in effect since the new year. Among other things, the new law restricts cities from outlawing home sharing.
Credit card debt after death
One of the primary advantages of creating an estate plan is protecting your property and assets from creditors who may come after them after you pass away. In general, any debt that you have accrued in your lifetime must be settled by your estate and does not pass on to an heir. Creditors, especially credit card lenders, may make wildly inaccurate claims to your family about what their responsibility is to your debt, so it is wise to have an estate plan firmly in place that can deal with any of these issues before they arise. It is also helpful to make sure that your family is well-educated about their rights and obligations when it comes to your estate and your debt.
Eminent domain options
For landowners in America, acquiring your own slice of the American dream in the form of real estate is sadly not the end of the story. Under some circumstances, land you own may be forcefully taken away from you through "eminent domain" — but the process is not automatic, and you do have options if you know where to look. Like most legal processes, the sooner you seek qualified legal counsel and take action, the more room you may have to negotiate.
Designating accounts as pay-on-death
For many years now, estate planning has largely focused on circumventing the probate process following the death of an estate holder. Depending on the size of your estate and the complexity of your assets, you may be faced with myriad options for how to construct your particular estate plan and ensure that your beneficiaries are not left waiting for an undue amount of time while the state has its way with your assets. For some individuals, bypassing probate may be as simple as designating some of their accounts as "payable-on-death" or "transfer-on-death," and assigning beneficiaries to those accounts.
email us for a response
