So, what are life estates or life estate deeds?
Sometimes, instead of using a trust, people will use a life estate deed to try and protect a house or farmland. This means they deed the land to their kids but reserve the right to still use the house or the farm as long as they are living. Because all of the instructions are contained in the deed itself, it can sound like a nice, simple solution. Life estates can seem like a cheaper and easier alternative to a trust…
But life estate deeds do not always work as advertised.
A Life Estate Deed Case Study
Click here to download the Case Study as a PDF from our Resources page
We recently had a situation here at the office that is a good example of why life estate deeds are generally not a good option. Mom had put her house into a life estate a while back. She was now in a situation where she needed more care and was going to a nursing home. The family wanted to sell the house, but if they sold the house, then a percentage of the house would be considered an asset for the purposes of Medicaid. Even with good legal planning, some of the funds would have to be spent on nursing home costs, and the ultimate goal of planning is to protect your hard-earned money and assets (like your house) that you hoped could be a legacy for your family someday.
4 Reasons Life Estate Deeds Don’t Work
1. They don’t protect ALL the value. People are surprised by how much of the value of their house or property is still considered theirs if they need Medicaid. This is all governed by a Medicaid table. (See it here.) So, what are the exact problems with life estate deeds and why don’t life estate deeds “work”?
Here’s how the Medicaid table works: if someone is 65-years-old, Medicaid says that almost 68% of the house is still considered yours. At age 70, 60.5% is yours. At age 80, 43.66% of the value of the house still counts as yours.
So what does this mean? It means that if you are 70-years-old, have a stroke and need to go to a nursing home, when your house is sold then 60.5% of the house sale money stays in your name and is exposed to long term care costs. This is true even if it has been more than 5 years since the deed was done.
2. You don’t own or fully control your house or property anymore. If something unexpected happens and you “need” to sell the property, you can’t without getting the kids to sign off on it, because they actually own the property. You don’t own it anymore (even though you have the right to use it for the rest of your life).
3. You can’t change who gets it after you are gone. With a life estate deed, it’s a done deal. The house goes to your kids at your death — no matter what. There is no way to change it. So, if your child dies before you do, you can’t reconsider who the house or property goes to. It will go through his or her estate and be completely out of your control (even though you have the right to use it for the rest of your life).
4. Life estate deeds could prevent you from getting VA benefits. The VA sees things differently and assumes that any income interest or life estate you might have are entirely yours (and therefore counted as an asset). Depending on the situation, this could cause you to be denied VA benefits. For instance, farmland with a life estate would typically prevent VA benefits without further planning.
What’s the Solution?
In contrast to the above issues with life estate deeds, nest egg trusts can effectively address all of these issues:
• They can protect 100% of the value once 5 years has passed.
• You can be the trustee of the trust where your farm or home is kept, which means you can sell the property, buy a different house if you want, etc.
• You can reserve a rewrite power (called a “power of appointment”) so you can change who gets it at death. That way, if circumstances change, you can respond to them appropriately.
• A trust can be set up to allow VA benefits or be adjusted later to qualify for VA benefits.
Trusts are one of the best tools that we have in our legal toolbox to help clients. Our firm has over a decade of experience helping families get them properly set up. If you are considering a life estate deed, please give us a call first to see if there are better options available for your unique situation.
Download the Life Estate Deeds Case Study for quick reference and to share with others.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns about estate planning or elder law, Medicaid planning, long-term care planning or Veterans benefits, please give us a call at 217-726-9200. We’d be more than happy to speak with you!