Can I Include Out-of-State Assets in My New Jersey Estate Plan?

Estate planning in Summit, New Jersey has many different components, and a person’s particular needs will depend on their specific assets and individual circumstances. For many residents of the Summit area, their assets include a vacation home outside the state of New Jersey. Whether you have a winter home in Florida, a ski cabin in the Poconos, or a home or apartment you rent out as a vacation rental to others as a source of income, it is important to think about how to include out-of-state property in your estate plan. Many people are concerned that they cannot include out-of-state property in a New Jersey estate plan. While any real estate you own in another state may require additional considerations or documents, your Summit estate planning attorney can discuss such assets with you and can assist you in handling out-of-state property. Consider some of the following information concerning property outside New Jersey.

How Out-of-State Property is Handled in Estate Planning 

Whether your own property in nearby Pennsylvania or Maryland, or you own a vacation home or rental unit many states away, it will be important to understand how your out-of-state property will need to be handled in your estate planning process.

First, you can leave out-of-state property in your will. However, if you do so, then the property will usually need to go through ancillary probate in order to have the out-of-state property transferred out of the estate and distributed to the person or entity named in the will. Ancillary probate can be complicated, and it usually costs more money and takes extra time than probate in New Jersey alone. However, there are often other options for handling out-of-state property in your estate plan that can allow your loved ones to avoid probate (and thus the added complexities of ancillary probate).

Considering Options for Out-of-State Property in Your Estate Plan 

What are your options for estate planning concerning your out-of-state property? Most people will want to avoid ancillary probate, which can increase costs and take up more time than a general probate process within New Jersey. As such, many Summit-area residents who own property in another state will want to consider options for avoiding probate while ensuring this property will go to the person or entity of their choosing.

There are a handful of different options for avoiding probate for out-of-state property, and options will depend in part on the state where the property is located. If the property is located in a state where transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds are allowed for real estate, or where Lady Bird deeds are permitted, then you can designate a beneficiary to whom the property will transfer upon your death. Otherwise, you can consider options such as placing the property into a living trust, or joint ownership with the person you want to receive the property upon your death (although joint ownership will mean that person has equal rights to the property in the present, too).

Contact a Summit Estate Planning Lawyer 

Do you reside in the Summit area but own property in another state? If so, it is important to discuss details of that property with one of the experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyers at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan. In addition to other components of your estate plan, we can help you to consider options for managing out-of-state assets within your New Jersey estate plan, and any additional documents or tools that may be important. Contact us today to discuss your particular circumstances with our Summit estate planning attorneys.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-46/section-46-3-17-1/

floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/lady-bird-deeds/