Your Home Is More Than a Place to Live, It Is Part of Your Legacy

Your Home Is More Than a Place to Live, It Is Part of Your Legacy

Last October, I lost my father. In the months since, I have been helping my mom work through everything that comes next, and more than once, the house has been at the center of those conversations. I have also seen the same thing come up with clients recently, sometimes in the middle of a transaction, sometimes just over coffee. It is something most of us do not think about until we have to. So this month, I wanted to write about it while it is on my mind.

Your home is likely the single largest asset you own. Most people have a will. Far fewer have thought carefully about how their real estate actually fits into it,and those two things do not always line up the way you would expect.

 

It Starts Before the Will – It Starts on the Deed
Here is something that surprises a lot of people: how your home is titled can override what your will says entirely.

In Pennsylvania, there are three primary ways to hold title to a property:

Tenancy by the Entirety is available only to married couples. It includes an automatic right of survivorship, meaning that when one spouse passes, full ownership transfers to the surviving spouse immediately - no probate required. It also offers meaningful protection against individual creditors.

Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship works similarly - when one owner passes, the property transfers automatically to the surviving owner. This applies whether co-owners are married or not. The key word is automatic. It happens outside of probate and outside of your will.

Tenancy in Common is different. Each owner holds a separate share, and when they pass, that share does not automatically go to the co-owner. It goes to whoever is named in the will; or, if there is no will, through Pennsylvania's intestacy laws. That can create complications families do not see coming.

The good news: you do not have to guess how your home is titled. That information lives on your deed, and I can look it up for you. I also work closely with title companies who can pull this information quickly and at absolutely no cost to you. If you have ever wondered, or never thought to wonder, I am happy to find out. 

 

Do Not Forget the Other Properties

A primary residence is one piece of the picture. But a lot of families in this area also own a shore house, a mountain cabin, a lake property, or an investment rental, and those properties carry their own equity, their own complications, and often their own family dynamics.

My mom is a good example. After selling the home she shared with my dad, she purchased a new place and still owns a vacation property. Each of those required its own thought about what comes next.

Vacation homes tend to sit in a particularly emotional gray area. Everyone loves them. Everyone has memories attached to them. The holidays, the summers, the traditions built over decades. But the conversation about what happens to them -who gets it, whether to sell, how to divide it fairly among siblings - rarely is had while there is still time to have it thoughtfully.

Living where we do, this is more common than people realize. A significant number of Philadelphia-area families own a second property - a place at the Jersey Shore, a cabin in the Poconos, a house on a lake in the Catskills. That property has likely been appreciated meaningfully. It carries real equity. And in many cases, it has never been part of a formal estate plan.

Whether it is a rental in the city, a vacation home you have owned for thirty years, or a place you visit a few weekends a year, every property you own deserves to be part of the conversation. The equity you have built is real. Make sure it ends up where you intend. 

A Few Simple Steps Worth Taking

You do not need to have everything figured out. But a little intention now goes a long way.

Find out how each of your properties is titled. I can help with that.

Make sure your deed reflects your current wishes - life changes, and ownership structures can be updated.

Have a conversation with an estate attorney. It does not have to be complicated, and it is worth doing before a family has to navigate it under pressure.

Make sure someone you trust knows where your documents are.

None of this is meant to be heavy. It is just the kind of thing that is much easier to sort out on your own terms than in the middle of grief. 

 

Let's Talk

If this has come up for you or for a parent, a sibling, or a friend, I am always happy to be a resource. Whether it is pulling title information, thinking through the equity in a second property, or just pointing you in the right direction, that is what I am here for.