I am always amazed at the people who come into my office in need of bankruptcy help who have been placed on the title to real estate which belongs to a relative, often a parent. I am told that this was an attemtp to avoid probate, and done without the guidance of an estate planning lawyer. So instead of having to contend with the inconvenience that probate might bring, mom or dad’s house has now been exposed to all of my client’s creditors. An aggressive creditor could foreclose on the property in order to collect on the debt of a child who has been placed on the title to the property.
While you wouldn’t perform your own surgery, the same should apply to handling legal affairs. Doing your own estate planning can result in complications that you may not be able to predict. There are a whole host of ways in which a parent can ensure that their children can avoid probate, but this requires the guidance of a skilled professional. The cost of a good estate plan is far cheaper than than the cost to fight to save the family home from creditors.
