Issue 36.12
Many of you have relocated here from other parts of the country. Though you have made your home here, you often continue to own property that is located in your prior home state. A person moving here from Idaho, for example, may continue to own a business or family vacation home in Idaho, but now lives permanently in Utah. This can cause the unwary a complicated probate issue at death.
Since Utah is now your state of residence, its laws will have the primary control over your estate at your death. At your death your family will need to go through the Utah court probate process in order to take care of your estate. However, the probate problems would not end there. In each state that you own real property, you would also be required to file another probate court action in those states as well. In our example, our friends from Idaho would file a probate proceeding here in Utah, and then be required to file a second probate proceeding in Idaho because they own real property there.
The second probate process to be filed in the other states is usually a shorter probate process since the main probate is filed here in Utah. However, those additional probate proceedings will still cost the family considerable attorney’s fees, costs, and delays since they would then be dealing with more than one court, with each court located in a different state. If a family owns real property in several states, the expense and overall toll on the family to have a probate proceeding in each state can be considerable.
The solution is simple. Prepare and deed all of your real property to a family trust. Deeding all of your real property to a trust, regardless of the state in which your property is located, will save your family a tremendous amount of time, frustration and money by avoiding the necessity for any probate. If all of your real property is held in your trust, no matter where it is located, no probate will be necessary in Utah or any other state. Of course, all your other assets should also be held in your trust (unless your estate planning attorney has advised otherwise). But real property presents this special multi-state probate problem that can be solved completely and efficiently through the proper use of a trust.
Sean Sullivan is an estate planning attorney who will make time to visit with you about this or other estate planning issues and questions you may have. Call for your appointment today at 673-9220. Also see his ad in this edition of the Senior Sampler.