For some a trust may be a good option when planning their estate.
I did a ton of research for my parents. (Story of my life, since they do not speak English well and are not tech savvy.)
What I found out is that Trusts only seem to make sense when you are dealing with a large estate containing many assets. They require yearly maintenance fees and can cost 4-10k in lawyer fees to set up correctly. Not everyone can or wants to dish out that kind of money. For smaller estates a Transfer on Death Deed can be a wonderful option.
A Transfer on Death Deed is a document that transfers your property to a designated individual of your choosing. All you have to do is fill out the form, get it notarized, and turn in in to your local county recorder of deeds.
When you pass away, your property automatically goes to the individual you designated and it avoids going into probate.
If your family member, such as a parent for example, has a house and no will, when they die it will go into probate. This means that it can take months before you have access to their assets and you may need them sooner than later to pay for funeral expenses, for example.
Probate can cost money as well so we wanted to avoid it. We set up a TODI. It was simple, free, and now my dad has peace of mind!
If you live in Illinois like I do you can use this website
https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/transfer-death-instrument-or-todi
to fill out the TODI document and then print, notarize, and file it at your local county. It is the one I used.
This link also has more information about TODIs in IL.
https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/creating-transfer-death-instrument-todi
Check regulations for other states as they may have different rules and remember when in doubt talk to an experienced elder care attorney. Some of them may be able to provide consultative services free of charge.
Let me know what you think about trusts and TODIs and if this post was helpful to you!
Great content! Keep up the good work!