Your Trusted Legal Partner -VALUABLE TIPS-

Make a  lifetime transfer of property (house/land).  When you have owned property for a really long time most likely the property value has appreciated a lot, which means if you transfer the property to another individual in a lifetime transfer, that individual will be responsible for paying an exorbitant amount of capital gains takes when they sell it.

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Place the property in a living trust and add  that individual as the beneficiary so when you die that individual can inherit the property tax free through the "stepped up and cost basis."

Fall victim to deed fraud...

This can happen to anyone. This is where a theft forges your signature and transfers title to your property and then sells it to an unknown third party. Monitor your deed. If this happens you will have to go to court to reverse. 

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Avoid this from happening by: 1) keeping your mailing address updated with the Secretary of State so that you will get notified if anything is filed with regard to your deed. 2) If you see a transfer or get notified about a mortgage, contact a lawyer right away. 3) For better protection, consider holding your real estate in a trust, which is harder to forge. 

Be locked out of your spouse's bank account.  When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse may not be able to access the bank accounts. If the spouse did not list a beneficiary on the account prior to death, the accounts will be frozen. The surviving spouse will need to then go thru Probate. 

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To avoid this, before it’s to late ensure to designate a beneficiary, also know as a POD or TOD and consider a trust for better protection.

Forget to update beneficiaries on retirement accounts as life changes occur. For example, when an individual is in a relationship and makes the significant other a beneficiary on their retirement account and then later they break up. If the individual forgot to update their beneficiaries then in the unfortunate event that they die and are in another relationship. The more recent significant other (i.e. a surviving spouse) will not receive the retirement account as the court will rule for the ex to receive the retirement account because they remained as the beneficiary.

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Immediately change beneficiaries upon life event changes and consider a trust for added protection.

Lock your spouse out of your iCloud acocunt. When a spouse dies the surviving spouse may need access to their ICloud account. 

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Create a legacy contact. A legacy contact is someone you name to get access to your account once you pass. On apple devices, tap settings, tap your name, tap sign in and security, and then legacy contact. If this was not set up prior to death, the surviving spouse would need a court order. HOWEVER, in most states, Apple will accept a will or a trust naming the surviving spouse.

Leave your kids unprotected. 

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Protect your kids with the 3Ls

1. Legal Guardian - appoint a legal guardian. Without this, your kids could be raised by foster care or someone you would never want.

2. Life Insurance - term life insurance is affordable and has low fees. A good starting point is 10x your income.

3. Living Trust - this avoids probate and ensures that your finances are managed for your kids the way that you want instead of the government taking control.