Q: My father wants to leave me his house, do we do a living trust? How do we avoid probate?
The house is not paid off yet, he wants to put me on the deed and we were told to do a living trust. Will this stop me from having to go into probate?
A: Yes, a living trust would avoid probate and might be an excellent choice for your dad's situation. However, there are other techniques that might be better if, for example, you want to protect the home from being sold after death to reimburse Medicaid for long term care expenses paid on your dad's behalf. You should discuss this with an experienced elder law attorney. Either way this is not a do it yourself project.
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