Reverse mortgages have become extremely popular in California and especially in San Diego communities with a large senior population such as Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Ramona, and Oceanside.
If you have a reverse mortgage already or are thinking about getting one, useful information about reverse mortgages is available fromthe U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). AARP also has information and a list of questions to ask yourself before making the decision to apply for one.
Remember from an estate planning perspective, the lender may ask you to take your home out of your living trust to accomplish the reverse mortgage. Make sure your home is put back into the trust after the mortgage is in place. This means that there is a grant deed or quitclaim deed showing the property titled in your name as Trustee. When the deed has been recorded with the County Recorder, you home is then “put back” into your trust. This process may be done by whoever handled the mortgage paperwork but it is a good idea to verify that it has in fact been done since your home is often the major asset of your estate. You do not want to pass away with a major asset left out of your trust.
If you need help transferring property back into your trust and recording the necessary deed, contact us at Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation. Feel free to call us or e mail us for a complimentary in-house consultation about this or any other estate planning issue.