What do I do to make sure my siblings are taken care of upon my death.
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What do I do to make sure my siblings are taken care of upon my death.
My 2 siblings live with me and they are both on disability. I have less than 200K in savings and IRA and have 12 years left on my mortgage. I want to make sure my siblings can remain in my home and access any assets I have upon my death. I don’t know where to start.
Asked on May 9, 2018 under Estate Planning, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
1) You can leave your home to your siblings in a will, BUT if the mortgage is not paid off when you did, it will come due when you pass; if it is not paid off then, the bank can foreclose. So you want to pay down the mortgage as much as possible and make sure there are enough funds to pay the balance.
2) You can also leave all other assets (money, personal items, investments, etc.) to your siblings by will. You may wish to put some money (enough for 2 - 3 months of expenses) into a joint account with one or both siblings, or into an account that is pay on death (POD)/transfer on death (TOD) to one of them, so they will have access to that money right away, without having to go through the probate process.
3) If one of them would make a good executor, appoint him or her; if not, appoint a trusted friend or other relative to be executor. Give copies of the will to siblings and executor. You want to let them begin probating immediately.
4) Take out whatever life insurance you can afford on your budget, given health and age, and make your siblings beneficiaries. Even if all it does is pay funeral costs and maybe a bit left over for other expenses, that will help.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.