If you have a lady bird deed, do your kids need to sign if you sell the property

Vicky: Hi, Tom and Chrissy. You did my lady bird deed. Is that the same as the enhanced something or other-- I don't remember the full name.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Vicky, great question. Yes. An enhanced life estate deed is the legalese name for the same thing, which is a lady bird deed. They're both the same thing. Vicky.

Vicky: You did that for me a few years ago. If I am going to sell my house, if I'm going to put my house up for sale, does my beneficiary in that lady bird deed have to sign for the sale also? In other words, they have to approve that the house is going to be sold.

Attorney Holley Knapik: Vicky, I can answer that question for you. That is why the enhanced life estate deed that you have is a wonderful tool. You do not need the beneficiary's signature, knowledge, or consent to go forward and sell your home. It's still your home to do with what you wish and you would not need them to sign or agree to the sale.

Tom: All right, Vicky.

Vicky: Perfect. Thank you so very much, Chrissy, and thank you both for all you do.

Tom: You're very welcome. Now, Holley, while we're on that point, we're talking about an enhanced life estate deed, also known as a lady bird deed. There is an ordinary life estate deed. An ordinary life estate deed will also avoid probate. Once you do it, it is written in stone.

Holley: It's written in stone.

Tom: If somebody did an ordinary life estate deed, leaving it to their daughter, what happens if they want to sell the property?

Holley: If they decide to sell the property, then the daughter has to agree and sign the deed transferring that property to the new owner.

Tom: Yes. Sometimes daughter is not going to be willing to do that. Now, Holley, some of the listeners out there might be thinking, "Well, Tom, why wouldn't you always use an enhanced life estate deed, also known as a lady bird deed?" The fact of the matter is that we do almost always use them. I can tell you a situation where I used an ordinary life estate deed one time.

I had the kids and the mom all come to see me. They said, "Tom, people are knocking on Mom's door every day. They want to put a free coating, or they want to put a coating down on the driveway, or they want to put a new roof on, or they want to replace her windows. They're putting papers in front of her saying, 'Here, sign here. We'll do this for you.'"

Of course if they do that work, number one, they way overcharge you. Number two, they put a lien against the property. Mom is sitting there going, "Yes." First of all, she's completely incompetent. She goes, "Yes, I know. this is a problem. I got people knocking on my door, got people calling me. It's already happened. I got ripped off one time already."

We all want to make sure that doesn't happen again. We did an ordinary life estate deed as a tool to avoid probate on her home. Now, Mom, by her signature alone, could not sell the home, but she could also not put a lien against it. When she has these con artists knocking on her door and calling her all the time to try and sell her something, Mom's signature alone would not allow them to put a lien against the property.

Holley: That sounds like a-- not only, as you mentioned, a way to avoid probate, but to protect Mom.

Tom: Exactly. That's the one time I can remember doing it in that situation, but that was completely legitimate.

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