If you own any kind of real estate, including a home, you should include these in your will because there is a high chance they will pass through probate. There are some options for keeping real estate outside of your probated estate, such as transfer on death deeds, joint ownership or trusts. It is usually less avoidable for valuable possessions. When determining how your beneficiaries could be affected by the transfer of assets, such as real estate, first think about the number of beneficiaries that you intend to name.
If you are naming multiple people as beneficiaries to a piece of real estate, you may need to think about titling complications such as titling each of those to beneficiaries separately or having the property sold and the proceeds divided. Do not forget to think about potential tax and financial implications of passing things on in this way either. Your beneficiaries may have to pay capital gains taxes as part of a possible sale. You can also use tools such as a qualified personal residence trust to protect real estate. This pulls the property outside of your probate estate and helps to avoid federal estate taxes, which will also allow you to continue to live in the residence for a predetermined period of time.
You must outlive the term of the trust, however, to see the tax benefits. You can also name a joint owner on the property now so that it passes directly to the second owner which is allowed via a transfer on death deed. The property then passes immediately to that person who is usually a spouse outside of probate relatively quickly.