Your Home – Your Legacy

By Dave Olson, Realtor®, SRES^TM RE/MAX EXCEL

For many of us, our home is our greatest financial resource and the cornerstone on which our future planning rests. Your home or other Real Estate that you may own such as rental property, business properties, land or vacation homes are important assets. Considering them in Estate Planning is a must. 

To develop value for Real property, seek advice from a trusted Real Estate agent. A capable Realtor has their finger on the pulse of the ever-changing market values of homes and properties. To know best how your Real Estate pieces fit into your Estate Plan, you will need to know their current values, as determined by a professional Realtor. 

Qualified Real Estate pros offer comparative market analysis services, usually without cost or obligation. As a licensed professional, I can tell you that many Seniors don’t realize how home prices have increased recently, potentially making your home your biggest and strongest financial asset. 

Once you’ve determined the accurate value of your Real Estate holdings, THEN you can make informed decisions about your Real Estate. For some Seniors, divesting of some Real Estate could make sense now, freeing up capital you could use in the Golden Years. For others, income properties may be helpful to offset lost income upon retirement. Reverse mortgages are an option to tap into home equity to provide an income stream. For still others, no action may be the best course of action in terms of your ownership. Each situation varies, and decisions are managed best with sound advice from professionals.  

Once updated value of your properties has been determined, financial advisors, tax planners, or an Elder Law attorney can guide you to determine what strategies benefit you and your current circumstances best. As circumstances change, those professionals are a great resource to adapt your plans to meet changing needs.  It is important to note that while financial planners and Real Estate professionals do have knowledge of legal items respective to their trades, they are not licensed in law and cannot provide legal advice under any circumstances. For legal advice, you should always trust an Attorney. 

Once your course of action is determined, the next step involves protection with Estate planning.  We chose an Elder Law attorney and completed our Estate plan several years ago. We chose to use an Income Trust for our future planning. This trust is designed to protect in the event of a death or long-term care of either or both of us. In our situation, our property is part of the trust. This protective step offers legal protection for the surviving member and trust beneficiaries.

Estate and Trust law changes over time. It’s highly important to work with an attorney that stays on top of changing law, monitoring those legal waters, recommending changes if needed and championing your trust to ensure it maintains protection and value when governing laws change. 

Protecting your home and Real Estate assets now ensures your plan guards your Real Estate in the future.