No matter where you call home, many decide to have more than one for several reasons, such as a vacation home or for business purposes. Regardless, when more than one home is owned, there are some considerations to keep in mind as you are developing your estate plan.
What You Should Know About Your Residence and Domicile
While you can have more than one home, you can only have a single domicile that becomes your main residence. If you intend to spend an equal amount of time at more than one home, then a court may need to decide your domicile.
Knowing which home to consider domicile is important when it concerns taxes and other estate requirements, such as probate. Plus, having multiple homes will increase the value of the estate, which can affect the amount of taxes the estate pays. Regardless of the estate being federally exempt, your state may take some taxes out of it. When a domicile is not known, your estate may get hit double by taxes.
How Probate is Involved
The state where the home is located will always be governed by the same laws and not where the homeowner is living. Because of this, there may be some probate involved when there is more than one home. Due to you only having a single residence, you may not fully understand the problems that beneficiaries may face once an estate is settled because there may be a lot less divided and a lot more going towards tax or other liabilities. This is why many wish to avoid the probate process. However, you can easily avoid probate by selling a home so that you only have the cash value. If you don’t sell a home and you experience probate, it will be known as ancillary probate. Depending on where the other home is located, if it is far away, then you may need another probate attorney who will be in the local area to take care of it for you.
Get Your Estate Planning In Order Today
Having multiple homes does not mean you have to experience probate, but when you are prepared, your estate will be able to feel less of the burden. By having a knowledgeable estate planning attorney, they will be able to utilize great solutions that’ll ease the estate planning process. To get started, get in touch today.