People start blended families when they have children from prior relationships and marry someone who also has children. Blended families require appropriate legal preparation for the protection of everyone’s interests.
Spouses sometimes negotiate prenuptial agreements with one another. Other times, they work together to develop a comprehensive household estate plan. When there is a family home to consider, they may need to make special arrangements. A parent who owned a house prior to marrying may want their children to inherit the property.
However, they may want their spouse to have tenancy at the property indefinitely, even after their passing. Some people use trusts to achieve that goal. However, they may also be able to use a life estate deed as a way of creating a more nuanced estate plan.
What is a life estate deed?
A life estate deed is a real estate document that grants one party the right of tenancy until they die. The party executing the deed can also name someone as a beneficiary to inherit the property. In fact, they can arrange for multiple people to jointly inherit the property.
A life estate deed allows a spouse with a blended family to give their spouse the ability to stay in the home for the rest of their life without risking their children’s right of inheritance. They can name themselves and their spouse as joint tenants. Both of them have the right to remain at the property until they die. The beneficiaries can then inherit the property and assume control over it.
Unlike enhanced life estate deeds or lady bird deeds, which are not lawful in New York, the life tenant occupying the property does not have the option of selling or refinancing the property while they live there. They typically cannot take steps that deprive the beneficiaries of their interest in the property.
The right type of deed can be an important inclusion in an estate plan regardless of an individual homeowner’s family status. Looking into different ways to address real property can help people establish effective estate plans or optimize the documents that they already have in place. Discussing different estate planning strategies with a skilled legal team can help parents and property owners protect what matters most to them.
