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By Gary M. Landau, Esq.

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Question: My wife and I just saw a home we love, and we want to buy it. However, we have not yet put our house on the market. Given how it is taking longer to sell property these days, is there a way we can still buy our dream house?

Answer: With the current status of the housing market, buyers might want to consider selling their property before they go looking for a new one. However, since you already found a house you love, it is too late to take that option. You could try presenting an offer to the seller “contingent” on the sale of your house. But most sellers won’t go for such a plan when you don’t yet have a contracted buyer. Another option is to borrow the money you need short term against the value of your current house called a “bridge loan.” Interest rates and costs for such a loan can be high. You can also consider getting a home equity loan on your current property before you put it on the market – typically a cheaper option. If you have enough in your 401K or a “secured” asset such as bonds, you might be able to borrow against those. Talk to a lender or a financial advisor to determine the best options for you. It is important to have an attorney review the contract on the house you plan to purchase, to make sure that the deal (and your deposit) is subject to your getting the funding you need.

Question: My widowed father just passed away. His condo was owned in a revocable living trust, and I am the successor trustee. Do I have to do anything to own the home outright?

Answer: First, my sympathies for your loss. As to your question, assuming the trust names you as both the successor trustee and the beneficiary of the condo, decisions about the home passed to you upon your father’s death. In fact, this easy transition is one of the benefits of having a revocable trust, which is created by the person owning the assets and can be changed by him at any time. You will now be able to sell the condo or, subject to approval by the condo board, to live there. When you are ready to sell, the lawyer or title company handling the closing will want to review the trust to be sure the power to sell the condo indeed rests with you.

Question:  Does it make a difference whether I close on a house I am buying on a specific date of the month?

Answer: It doesn’t make much of a difference, so you should schedule your closing for when it is most convenient for you and the seller. The out-of-pocket costs you must pay at closing are a bit lower when you close at or near the end of the month. This is because you must prepay interest on your mortgage for the first month, so if you close, say, June 29, you only need to prepay one day’s worth of interest.

Question: My elderly mother owns a condo but she has become ill. Should I take steps now to avoid having to probate her condo in the event she gets sicker and dies?

Answer: A growing number of attorneys are turning to “lady bird deeds” in just these situations. Your other could do one of these deeds to put you and any siblings you have, if appropriate, on the deed. She would retain what lawyers call a “life estate,” meaning she can live there as long as she wants and sell it without your (or your siblings’) consent if she decides to. The advantage of this type of deed is that she keeps full, legal control of the property. You should know, though, that there are some risks involved. If you, or your siblings, if they are on the deed, have a judgment filed against you, it can become a lien on the property. Also, in rare situations, things don’t always turn out as planned. Recently, for example, a woman put her two sons on her deed in this way. Tragically, one son died shortly after getting married; now the young widow, in the family for a very brief time, is entitled to a share of the condo when mom dies. A lawyer can help you determine if this type of deed, or perhaps a different legal approach, is right for your mother’s situation.

Question: I am buying a house, and we have a written contract. The seller has told me she will leave certain things in the house, such as the fixtures and drapes, but this is not in the contract. Is her word binding?

Answer: As a lawyer friend of mine likes to say, if it’s not in writing, it’s as if it never happened. To be enforceable, an agreement must be written down and signed by both parties. Your lawyer or real estate agent can draft this agreement, or you can even do it yourself. If you do draft it yourself, be sure you include exactly what is to be left in the house (green cotton drapes in the living room, crystal chandelier in the front hall, etc.), that it is signed by buyer and seller and that there is no additional fee for these items.

Question: I am interested in buying a condominium conversion unit for investment purposes. The contract looks like a standard form. Should I just sign it?

Answer: No legal agreement is ever a standard form. It is always subject to negotiation on both sides. Especially now that the market has softened, the seller may be even more willing to make concessions. This is important because many of these type of contracts (prepared by the seller’s attorney) go out of their way to protect the seller but don’t do much to protect you and your money. For example, many contracts treat the deals as a cash deal even if you plan to get a mortgage; this means if you don’t get the mortgage for some reason, you may still be forced to buy the unit or forfeit your deposit. Before you sign any contract, consult with a lawyer who can help you understand the contract’s fine print and can negotiate with the seller if you desire.

Question: My widowed mother added me, her only child, to the deed of her unit in a Coconut Creek condo several years ago. Now she has died. I have been told I need to probate her estate in order to sell this condo, but that doesn’t seem right to me.

Answer: When your mother added you to the deed, she must have neglected to put in the important language “joint tenants with rights of survivorship.” Had this language been included, her death would have allowed the unit to pass immediately to you. However, without such language, her portion of the unit instead goes to whomever she left it to in her will. That probably is you, but you will need a court order via a probate, to legally acquire her portion of the title.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

A will is the simplest way to ensure that your funds, property and personal things will be distributed after your death the way you want them to. Even if you have very few assets, you will benefit from having a will. About half of all Americans die without a will (known in legal terminology as dying intestate). Without a will to indicate your wishes, the court steps in and distributes your property according to state law. A will ensures that your assets will be given to family members or other beneficiaries you designate.

 

Having a will is doubly important if you have young children. One section of the will allows you to designate a guardian for them in the event of your death. Without a will, the court will appoint a guardian for your children, who may not be the person you desire.

Many Florida residents have out-of-state wills, drawn up while they were still living among the hills of North Carolina or the hubbub of New York. If the will was valid according to your old state’s laws at the time you made it, it is still legal in Florida. However, if you are a Florida resident, you may benefit greatly by having a new will drawn up in Florida, because it will likely be more easily admitted to probate.

 

It is important to know that each state has its own requirements for what makes a will a legally binding document. For example, Florida doesn’t recognize handwritten wills that haven’t been witnessed (known as “holographic wills”), or oral wills not put into writing, even if other states okay them. There’s also the matter of Florida estate law. In this state, for example, your surviving spouse is entitled to 30 percent of your net probate estate, regardless of what you say in your will. The spouse may also have a “Homestead” interest in property you share here, even if you want your house to go to someone else. In fact, all real property owned in Florida will be subject to this state’s laws, even if you’re a snowbird maintaining a residence in the state where your will was drawn up. Other peculiarities also exist, which is why a Florida will could make things much easier for your heirs.

 

If you would like to have me review your current out-of-state will, I am happy to do so without charge. If it turns out to be in accordance with Florida state laws and procedures, you can continue to rely on it. If not, however, your heirs would rather you discover that now.

It is a good idea to re-read your will every few years to be sure it reflects up-to-date realities (you may not want to leave your heirloom to a niece you are no longer speaking to, nor have someone be named your child’s guardian if they have taken seriously ill since you drafted your will). It is especially important to reexamine your will if:

 

  • You have gotten married since it was last drafted;
  • You have made bequests to people who have fallen out of your favor or are no longer living (I recently updated the will of a man who had left everything to his first wife, who was long deceased), or you have not included people who are now dear to you;
  • You would like to change the person named as the personal representative of the estate. (Note: Florida law does not allow a nonresident of the state to serve in this position, unless it is an immediate family member or certain other relatives);
  • You have acquired pricey or sentimental items that are not accounted for in your will. Do note, though, that Florida law allows you to attach a separate personal property memorandum to your will, detailing who will get which specific items. This list can be changed whenever you want.

Perhaps I should answer this question with where not to store it: in a bank’s safety deposit box. Although it may seem logical to put this with your other important papers, it is often difficult for your heirs to gain access to the box once you die, since the box is sealed then and must be opened in the presence of a bank employee.

 

One good option is to leave your original will with the attorney who drafted it, making copies for your personal representative and other important relatives and letting them know who has the original. For my clients who prefer that I store their original will, I keep it in a fireproof will vault in my office, or in the vault in my bank.

 

As an alternative, you could store the will in a fireproof box or vault in your own home.

 

Wherever you store it, be sure to let your personal representative and other close relatives know where you have put it!

Probate is when the court oversees your assets and liabilities after your death. During probate, the court makes sure that your will is valid and acceptable; that all debts, bills, creditor’s claims, and taxes are paid from your estate’s assets; and that your remaining assets are distributed to your beneficiaries according to your will (or, if no will exists, by Florida law).

 

Probate usually does take longer than most beneficiaries would like. But in order to ensure that everyone with a right to a claim is included in the process, the court requires several steps. If the size and complexity of your estate are minimal, however, the entire process of probate can take as little as a few months. Larger estates that are subject to IRS estate taxes or those involving litigation on the part of creditors or heirs generally take longer, often one or more years.

 

To speed the process along for simple and small estates, the courts allow a shortened form of probate, known as “summary administration,” which requires much less paperwork and time.

A personal representative (PR) is a friend or relative, or an attorney or bank, who is put in charge of the estate until all matters regarding the probate are resolved. (In other states, this person is sometimes called an executor or administrator.) The job of the PR includes identifying all assets, searching for creditors and paying valid claims, filing required estate tax returns if the estate is large enough (the figure escalates over time, according to Congressional laws), coordinating with the probate court and attorneys, and overseeing the distribution of assets–all done under the guidance and assistance of a qualified attorney.

 

Serving as a PR is an important role, and such a person should be selected with care as to who is most willing and best able to serve in this position. By Florida law, your personal representative must be over 18 years of age, and be a blood relative, your spouse, the parent or child of your spouse, or a Florida resident.

Generally, no. If you co-own all property via such legal structures as “tenancy by the entirety” or by “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” the property immediately passed to you upon your spouse’s death. Proof of death is usually all that is needed to pass such jointly owned title for cars, stocks, and other personal property to the surviving spouse.

 

But if even one asset was held solely in the deceased person’s name, or any property is owned in the form of a “tenancy in common,” that estate will be required to go through probate. If the assets are limited, the shorter, simpler form of probate is generally all that is required.
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