Should I Give the Kids My House in My Estate Planning?

Houses make for terrible wealth transfer vehicles. Bequeathing a house can mean passing along financial burdens, red tape, home maintenance responsibilities, potential family conflict and housing market volatility, says Kiplinger’s recent article, “Your Home Would Be a Terrible Inheritance for Your Kids.”

Communication about plans is critical. A study from Money & Family found that 68% of homeowners plan to leave a home or property to heirs. However, 56% haven’t told them about their plans. That will surprise the recipients who may or may not want or be able to service an inherited home.

Suppose you bequeath a house to an heir or heirs. In that case, they’ll have to make an immediate plan for home maintenance, mortgage payments (if necessary), utilities, property taxes, repairs and homeowners’ insurance. Zillow says this can amount to as much as $9,400 annually, not including mortgage payments.

The psychology of the home. Owners often have deep emotional attachments to their homes. Therefore, when people gift their homes to children and heirs, they’re not just giving an asset — they’re endowing them with all the good memories that were made on that property. Emotional connections to the home can be nearly as powerful as a strong attachment to a living being.

Beneficiaries may struggle to make practical choices about the inherited property because of the home’s sentimental value. This emotional aspect can cloud judgment and hinder the effective management and allocation of assets.

The financial burdens and family conflicts for beneficiaries. Inheriting a home entails a range of financial responsibilities that can quickly add up.

Property taxes, insurance premiums, ongoing maintenance costs and unexpected repairs can strain beneficiaries’ financial resources dramatically. If beneficiaries already have their own homes, inheriting an additional property can exacerbate financial burdens and potentially hinder their own financial goals, retirement plans and aspirations. The passing of a family member can also sometimes lead to conflicts among heirs, potentially exacerbating existing fractures in relationships among siblings and other family members.

According to a 2018 study, nearly half (44%) of respondents saw family strife during an estate settlement. Disagreements can cause tension, strain relationships and even result in lengthy legal battles.

What Is in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Estate?

The properties demonstrate Feinstein and her husband’s expansive wealth and success in their respective fields, according to BNN’s recent article, “Feinstein’s Billionaire Legacy: Children to Inherit Prominent Properties Amid Disputes.”

Feinstein, who was raised with money, has been one of the wealthiest members of Congress for years. She was independently wealthy when she married Richard Blum in 1980. After her election to the Senate, she placed her securities into a blind trust valued between $5 million and $25 million.

The couple’s combined fortunes have thrived, surpassing even the senator’s previous standard of living. Her primary residence is a 9,500-square-foot mansion in the posh Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Until recently, their vacation homes included the 36-acre Bear Paw Ranch in Aspen, Colorado, and a seven-bedroom Lake Tahoe compound. Current holdings include a property on the Hawaii island of Kauai and a home in Washington, D.C.

However, the battle over Blum’s estate raises questions about the extent of his wealth and the out-of-pocket cost of home health care that Senator Feinstein has received since her bout with shingles earlier this year. During his lifetime, Blum, a private equity magnate, was often publicly referred to as a billionaire. However, the pandemic reportedly significantly impacted his investments, particularly his extensive hotel holdings.

An ugly dispute has arisen among the couple’s children, casting a new light on their fortune, and hinting at a potential court battle over the estate. Feinstein’s daughter, Katherine, and Blum’s three daughters, Annette Blum, Heidi Blum Riley, and Eileen Blum Bourgarde, will split the estate equally. However, a dispute has come up concerning a waterfront house in Marin County, California, valued at $7.5 million, which was at the center of a dispute between Katherine and Blum’s daughters this year.

The couple’s wealth is largely attributed to his success as an investor. Feinstein’s daughter and three stepdaughters are set to inherit the late senator’s $102 million property portfolio and her $62 million private jet.

The distribution of the portfolio, estimated to be worth over $160 million, is now a big issue among the couple’s children.

Reference: BNN (Oct. 3, 2023) “Feinstein’s Billionaire Legacy: Children to Inherit Prominent Properties Amid Disputes”

What’s the Latest on Multiple Wills of Queen of Soul?

A Michigan jury recently determined that a handwritten document by Soul Superstar Aretha Franklin found on her couch after her 2018 death was a valid will. It was a critical turn in a dispute that had turned her sons against each other.

CBS News’ recent article, “Expensive court fight over Aretha Franklin’s will provides cautionary tale,” warns that the fight could have been avoided if Franklin had had a formal will drafted by an experienced attorney.

An experienced estate planning attorney could have made certain that it specified what should become of her money, property and other possessions — and that it would hold up in court.

This lesson also applies to other families. You should prepare your estate plan, so the children won’t fight after you die. Estate attorneys may recommend that you establish a revocable trust. This can keep the estate out of probate court.

After the singer died, her family thought she had no will. Under Michigan law, her assets would have been divided equally among her four sons. The sons unanimously selected a cousin as the estate’s personal representative, a position similar to that of an executor. However, months later, in May 2019, two handwritten documents were found at Franklin’s home in suburban Detroit — one in a locked cabinet, the other in a spiral notebook in the couch — which immediately divided the singer’s children. Neither document was prepared by a lawyer, and neither lists witnesses, though the first one was notarized. Both had detailed lists of assets.

Aretha put her family through five years of expensive litigation that could have been avoided.

She was working with an attorney about a formal will from 2016-18, but nothing was finalized at her death.

“There were a lot of open questions and we never resolved those open questions,” lawyer Henry Grix testified during the long-running litigation. “She was quite ill and perhaps unable, really, to reach final intentions.”

Do-it-yourself software is inexpensive. However, these programs can’t customize a will to a family’s unique circumstances and foresee all the potential pitfalls like a good attorney could. Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish. Work with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: CBS News (July 12, 2023) “Expensive court fight over Aretha Franklin’s will provides cautionary tale”

Estate Battle with Millions at Stake in New Orleans

Jessica Fussell Brandt filed an eviction petition against her daughter, Julie Hartline, her son-in-law Darryl Hartline and two grandchildren, Alexis and Zachary Hartline. She is pitted against them in a legal fight over an estate valued at more than $300 million, reports nola.com in the article “In Ray Brandt estate battle, widow tries to evict family from Old Metairie compound.”

Before auto magnate Ray Brandt died at age 72 from pancreatic cancer, the entire family shared a compound that includes two mansions located next to the Metairie Country Club. Brandt has been trying to sell the property which belongs to the estate, as its executrix. The family members living there don’t want to move, even taking down “For Sale” signs from the lawn.

Her attempt to evict them comes after she won a case in her attempt to maintain control of her late husband’s estate, which includes a large number of auto dealerships and collision centers across Louisiana and Mississippi.

On January 25, a Jefferson Parish judge invalidated the last will and testament that Ray Brandt signed just weeks before his death and another last will drafted in 2015. The district judge ruled that both last wills contained a flaw in how they were notarized: neither notarization specified that Ray Brandt, the witnesses, and the notary were together when it was signed.

The decision is being appealed, but it appears to leave the fate of Brandt’s empire to a last will he made in 2010. Unlike the others, this last will places Jessica Brandt in full control of his estate and trust, including the auto dealerships, until her death.

Ultimately, Ray Brandt directed that her grandchildren, who he legally adopted as adults before he died, would split the estate’s assets.

Despite issuing a statement saying that Jessica was “pleased with the prospect beginning the healing process,” after the Jefferson Parish decision, the eviction filing revealed that Jessica’s attorneys sent an email urging family members to leave the property by January 31, 2021.

Jessica made a statement that her wish to evict family members was a result of the multiple citations issued by Jefferson Parish for continuing violations at the compound. The latest one was for a trailer and mud buggy parked in a driveway on a vacant lot. She also said that the family members own two other homes, one in Metairie and one in Fort Beauregard.

The compound where the family settled seven years ago is estimated to be worth more than $8 million.

The heart of the dispute pits Jessica Brandt against Archbishop Rummel High School principal Marc Milano, who Ray Brandt named as a trustee to oversee the auto group and the rest of the estate until Jessica Brandt dies. Milano has accused Jessica of taking money from the estate and trying to claim an ownership interest in the dealership. She sued him for defamation.

Now the grandchildren have filed their own legal action, challenging a petition to put Ray Brandt’s last will into effect. Their argument is the trust that Ray Brandt set up in 2015 makes it clear that he meant for Milano to oversee the assets.

This estate battle will no doubt keep the Jefferson Parish courts and newspapers busy for some time. It’s a lesson to keep your family’s business private, by ensuring that your estate plan is properly prepared and up to date.

Reference: nola.com (Feb. 3, 2021) “In Ray Brandt estate battle, widow tries to evict family from Old Metairie compound”

Estate Planning Blog Articles

Estate & Business Planning Law Firm Serving the Providence & Cranston, RI Areas

Should I Give the Kids My House in My Estate Planning?

What Is in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Estate?

What’s the Latest on Multiple Wills of Queen of Soul?

Estate Battle with Millions at Stake in New Orleans

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Should I Give the Kids My House in My Estate Planning?

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