Video: How Can You Avoid Probate on Your House in Georgia?

How can you avoid probate on your house in Georgia? Estate planning and probate attorney Sarah Siedentopf explains three different options, in Siedentopf Law’s latest video. #estateplanning #probate #Georgia

Hi, I’m Sarah Siedentopf. I’m an estate planning and probate attorney in Atlanta, Georgia.

The question I have today is, how do you avoid probate on your house in Georgia? There are three main ways.

First of all, you can own the property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Secondly, you can own the property through a trust. Third, you can give the property away as a gift during your lifetime. Let’s discuss.

So, the first way is buying the property or transferring the property into joint tenants with the right of survivorship. That’s the way it’s titled on the deed, and when the first person who passes away, the second person automatically gets that first person’s interest in the property. It does not go through probate, and you don’t have to do anything. It is automatically yours. That’s the first way.

The second way is putting the property in a trust. Once again, you are transferring the property so that the trust owns it. Trusts don’t go through probate. Wills do go through probate. But the trustee of the trust will actually have to do a deed transferring the property after the owner of the trust passes away, or the trust could hold the property long term, but it doesn’t go through probate.

The third way is giving the property outright as a gift during your lifetime. You don’t own the property when you die. It doesn’t go through probate. Obviously, there are some big pitfalls to this because you don’t own the property anymore, you have given it away, and you should carefully consider this. If you plan to apply for any government benefits, it will count as a transfer, and you should consider this and not just give things away from the purpose of avoiding probate without giving thoughts to other effects. But, these are your three ways: owning it as joint tenants, owning it in a trust, and giving it away. So, if you are desperate to avoid probate on your house in Georgia, this is how you do it. If you’d like to talk to me about it, I would love to talk to you. As always, give me a call. Thanks.

© Sarah Siedentopf and Siedentopf Law, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Siedentopf Law and EstateLawAtlanta.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hi, I’m Sarah Siedentopf. I’m an estate planning and probate attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. The question I have today is, how do you avoid probate on your house in Georgia? There are three main ways. First of all, you can own the property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Secondly, you can own the property through a trust. Third, you can give the property away as a gift during your lifetime. Let’s discuss. So, the first way is buying the property or transferring the property into joint tenants with the right of survivorship. That’s the way it’s titled on the deed, and when the first person who passes away, the second person automatically gets that first person’s interest in the property. It does not go through probate, and you don’t have to do anything. It is automatically yours. That’s the first way. The second way is putting the property in a trust. Once again, you are transferring the property so that the trust owns it. Trusts don’t go through probate. Wills do go through probate. But the trustee of the trust will actually have to do a deed transferring the property after the owner of the trust passes away, or the trust could hold the property long term, but it doesn’t go through probate. The third way is giving the property outright as a gift during your lifetime. You don’t own the property when you die. It doesn’t go through probate. Obviously, there are some big pitfalls to this because you don’t own the property anymore, you have given it away, and you should carefully consider this. If you plan to apply for any government benefits, it will count as a transfer, and you should consider this and not just give things away from the purpose of avoiding probate without giving thoughts to other effects. But, these are your three ways: owning it as joint tenants, owning it in a trust, and giving it away. So, if you are desperate to avoid probate on your house in Georgia, this is how you do it. If you’d like to talk to me about it, I would love to talk to you. As always, give me a call. Thanks. © Sarah Siedentopf and Siedentopf Law, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Siedentopf Law and EstateLawAtlanta.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.