Home Ownership. Legal Issues. There are over 120 million residences in America. 110 million are owner occupied. This is a huge number, so it follows that home ownership affects nearly every client. There are a myriad of ways to own a home. The way that the home is owned affects every aspect of estate planning. Despite this fact, however, clients usually decide how to go about home ownership in isolation from the rest of their financial planning. It is usually default, and based on whatever is available, or what is best for them at that specific time. What you should do is start looking at all the documents: the deed, the value of the home, etc. Co-ownership can occur in numerous ways with many types of relationships between the owners. Is there a lease, what does the deed say, etc. The only way to decide how to own a home is to look at ALL the planning documents. Once you come up with an answer about the best form of ownership for your clients, you have to deal with what barriers there are to changing the ownership. For example, people often lie to get houses insured, or to get cheaper insurance. If your client ever lied, you have to deal with the consequences. What is the effect that these changes will have on estate planning, In terms of financial planning, how are they paying-All at once? Taking loans? There are many issues to consider. Find out more about Home Ownership on LawEasy.com

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