Yuba City, CA asked in Family Law and Estate Planning for California

Q: My step daughter I need to make sure I have the correct legal jargon to protect her? Should I add my step kid deed?

My kids which weren’t around and help out when my wife died my step daughter was always there cooking and etc.. my kids haven’t helped like my step daughter . I just want to give about 30 % to my kids from the house , the difference of amount of first purchase to the total profit then after all debt and others bills I have are paid for the. My kids would get 30 % and my step daughter 70%

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1 Lawyer Answer
Nina Whitehurst
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Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Crossville, TN
  • Licensed in California

A: "Adding" your stepdaughter to your deed is fraught with peril for multiple reasons. The "best" way to accomplish your goal would be to transfer your home to a revocable living trust that requires that the home be sold (not distributed in kind) and includes the plan of distribution that you have described for the net proceeds. A trust also is meant to avoid probate. Typically the cost to prepare a trust is far less than what it would cost to probate the estate, so the net result is substantial financial savings for your estate. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you with this.

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