Wills....Re: Museums

On 23 Jan 2010 at 19:06, Ian King wrote: Probate where there is no will can take a very long time (read: years). Even with a will, probate can take months in some jurisdictions. The prudent thing to do as you settle into your golden years is to transfer title to your assets to the person or entity that you intend. Arrange a lease-back to you for, oh, $1 per year. There are two immediate benefits--the first is that you get to take the tax credit immediately if you're donating to a non-profit 501(c)3. The other is that once you depart to take your place at the great abacus in the sky, there's no going through probate or any question of title. The assets are not part of your estate. My mother-in-law gifted her house to her kids when she passed her 90th birthday. When she died at 99.5 years, the kids were able to take advantage of a midly overheated real estate market to dispose of it. Her estate cleared probate (even with a will) two years later when the market was beginning to tank. --Chuck