May 30, 2024

Does your family have a home in the beautiful coastal town of Highland Beach, Florida? This exclusive Palm Beach County community is nestled near the coast and close to the hubs of Miami and Boca Raton. If you adore your family home and want to keep it in the hands of your children and their children, you want to tackle estate planning with consideration and care. The Millman Law Group, led by Aaron D. Millman, Esq., CPA, can help you navigate estate planning and decide whether tools like a Lady Bird deed are right for you. 

Florida is one of several states that offers this enhanced life estate deed. Named after First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson; it was created by the Johnsons and their lawyer when they wanted to find a way to transfer the title of their property to their children while retaining control of the property during their lifetime. Call your Ladybird deed lawyer in Highland Beach today if this sounds like an ideal solution. 

Comparing Lady Bird Deeds to Standard Life Estate Deeds

Elevated life estate deeds are called Lady Bird deeds. This deed may be used to sell, mortgage, or lease real estate without the consent of the future beneficiaries. Using a typical life estate deed means that even before you pass away, you give up all ownership rights to the property. When you die, any assets covered by a Lady Bird deed are passed straight to your designated beneficiaries, avoiding the probate procedure.

Should You Use a Ladybird Deed for Your Highland Beach Home?

Families can avoid having their property go through probate before it is lawfully transferred to a beneficiary by using a Lady Bird deed. The following are additional alluring advantages of ladybird deeds: 

• Your family can save money by avoiding probate expenses.
• Assets are protected against property claims made against the beneficiary.
• The property may be sold or otherwise altered without the beneficiaries’ approval.
• Boost your eligibility for Medicaid.
• You may not be subject to federal gift taxes.
• You are protected from judgments, and your home stays your homeland.
• The asset may be mortgaged or sold.
• You keep your family from the potential danger, expense, and trouble of probate by using probate.

Bypass Probate with a Ladybird Deed

Collaborating with a Ladybird deed lawyer in Highland Beach can help guarantee that your possessions are distributed to your heirs after your death. You can sidestep the probate process using the Lady Bird deed for your property. Your heirs will appreciate the seamless ownership transfer during the difficult period following a family death.

Improve Your Medicaid Eligibility with a Lady Bird Deed

You might wish to apply for Medicaid and long-term care. You must fulfill certain standards to qualify for Medicaid, such as having all of your assets under a certain amount. If you utilize a standard Life Estate Deed to designate the value of your property as an asset and avoid probate, you likely wouldn’t be eligible for benefits. Since the property transfer is not seen as such when you use a Ladybird Deed, you would not have the same issue. 

Medicaid may also make a claim against the decedent’s probate estate in order to recoup the benefits provided. Due to its circumvention of the probate process, the property on the Ladybird deed is not included in the probate estate. Contact your Ladybird deed lawyer in Highland Beach now to safeguard and manage your assets.

Contact The Millman Law Group and Your Ladybird Deed Lawyer in Highland Beach

Millman Law Group, PLLC is one of the only law firms that offers life planning in South Florida. From life care planning to the preparation of detailed estate plans, Millman Law Group has committed to serving Floridian elderly communities in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Ocean Ridge, Hillsboro Beach, and many other areas since 2018. Our dedicated team specializes in special needs trusts and catering to any age demographic because we know that it’s never too early to start preparing for your future. For the latest news in estate planning and elder care law, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. You can also contact us at 561-463-6480.