How to avoid probate on your home

Barbara: In case something happens to us, she can have the house.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Barbara, what you're talking about is avoiding probate so that when you and your husband pass away, how do we get the house out of your names and into the name of your daughter? No probate. Barbara, we have a great tool for that called a Lady Bird Deed, also known as an enhanced life estate deed. It's a deed that we prepare for you. It states that as long as you or your husband are alive, it is your home to do with as you please, but when you pass away, that home would automatically go to your daughter. No headaches, no hassles, no probate. Chrissy, tell Barbara about the booklet we have on that.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Yes, Barbara, we have a great booklet that we would love to send to you that talks about exactly what Tom said which is how you can avoid probate and easily transfer your property directly to your daughter. I know as parents, we want to make things simple and easy for our kids. You can go to our website at olsenlawgroup.com, and that is O-L-S-E-Nlawgroup.com, and right there on our homepage, Barbara, you can put in your first and last name and mailing address and we will get our free booklet out to you this week. I encourage you, Barbara, to do that, and then from there, then, of course, you can speak to any one of us by phone and we're happy to answer any questions.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Barbara, does that answer your question for you?

Barbara: Yes.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Okay, so, Barbara, thank you for calling now. Just to make it perfectly clear, Barbara may have been heading in a direction where she wanted to add her daughter's name to the deed to her home. No, folks, we do not recommend that. We don't want you adding your children's names to the deed. If you do that and they get sued, work up a million dollars in medical bills, get divorced, file bankruptcy, don't pay their income taxes, their creditors would come after your piece of property. Now, we have a better tool for avoiding probate on your real estate. It's called a Lady Bird Deed. Folks, it works on your home, your rental property, your investment cum property, your beach condo, your vacant lot.

Even if you've got a mortgage on it, you can still do this Lady Bird Deed. Within the body of the deed, it literally states who gets this piece of property when you pass away. We're always talking about your kids, but it could be friends, it could be charity. When you do this Lady Bird Deed and you pass away, the only thing your children need to do is record your death certificate in a public records and that piece of property automatically belongs to them.