Should you add your children's names to the deed to your home?

Attorney Tom Olsen: We had a text question from a lady wanting to know if she should add her husband to the deed to the home that they live in and is it expensive. Chrissy, I've had people call me with that over the years and my first question to her would be, "How long you've been married?" If she says, "Hey, I've been married for six months or a year," I'd say, "Look, give it time. Let this marriage mature before you add the husband's name to the deed because once you do it, it is no taking it back."

If you keep that home in your name only and you get divorced in a few years, guess what? You're leaving with that home. If you add his name to the deed and you get divorced, guess what? He's getting one half that home. Give it time.

Now, I understand that sometimes we have spouses that there's something about-- they're insisting that their name be added to the deed and I can understand there's something about keeping your spouse happy and I can understand the pressure you can be under, but that's something you're going to have to-- I always tell people, "Hey, you can always blame it on me." Tell your spouse that Tom Olsen said no don't do it yet.

The other thing is, is it expensive? The good news and bad news. The good news is that-- well, actually, it's all good news. It's not that expensive to do a deed and record it here in the State of Florida. When you do deeds, you owe the State of Florida documentary stamps. It is nothing less than a tax.

We don't have income taxes here in the State of Florida, so one of the way that the state raises money is to dock stamps on deeds so that when there's monies changing hands or property being deeded back and forth and there's mortgages on those properties, you have to pay the State of Florida dock stamps. As far as a deed between a husband and wife, if it is their homestead, the home that they live in, no dock stamps due. That would only be true for the home that they live in. No dock stamps due, so good news on that front.