02/28/2025
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻?
(𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘿𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮)
This is a type of story I see all the time. This is not a REAL story, meaning John and Lisa are not real people, but this is something that could happen to someone you know.
John and Lisa thought they had done everything right. They set up a trust to protect their assets and ensure their children inherited their home. But there was one big problem—they never transferred their house into the trust.
When John passed away, the house went directly to Lisa because of the way the two owned the home. Years later, Lisa remarried and, without realizing the consequences, added her new husband as a joint owner of the home. When Lisa died, her new husband got the home. John’s children, whom he had intended to inherit the home, got nothing.
This could have been avoided with proper funding of their trust. A simple mistake cost John’s children their family home.
This is just one example of why it is a good idea to work with an estate planning attorney and to periodically review your estate plan to make sure it is accomplishing your goals.
