Question: I lived in Montana for most of my life, until my wife and I retired and moved to California earlier this year. We own a house in Sacramento, but we still have our Montana estate. How do I update my estate plan to include two homes in two different states?
Answer: Updating your estate plan now is a great decision. Without it your decedents will have to go through probate courts in both Montana and California. Your heirs’ legal fees will double – as well as their headaches.
Form a California revocable trust and place all of your real properties, including the one in Montana, in it. By creating a revocable trust, you are making the trust itself the owner of your properties, which will help your decedents avoid both California and ancillary foreign state probates.
