Does my house go to the state?

[GermanKlaus]

I am a German citizen. I do not live in the US, but I have a house in FL and spend a lot of time there.

My neighbor just told me that if I have no will my house will go to the US state if I pass away and not to my children (in Germany).

I have googled a lot, but I can not find anything.

Is this correct?

 

[Taxing Matters]

My neighbor just told me that if I have no will my house will go to the US state if I pass away and not to my children (in Germany).

I have googled a lot, but I can not find anything.

Is this correct?

Your neighbor is obviously not a lawyer in the US. If you die without a will then in any US state in which you have property that property will get distributed based on that states intestate (which means without a will) succession law. Under those laws, if you are not married at the time you die but you have living descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc) then your stuff gets distributed among those descendants. The exact distribution depends on the details of your living family when you die and the state law that applies. In most the simple case where you are not married when you die and all your children are still living when you die then in every state your stuff gets divided evenly among your children.

That said, there are several ways to set things up to ensure that the house goes to the persons you most want to have it. You can do a will, of course. You can put the house into revocable living trust, too. And you can use what in Florida is called a Lady Bird Deed, otherwise known as an enhanced life estate deed. Florida does not recognize transfer on death deeds like some other states do. Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks.

I strongly recommend you see a Florida estate planning attorney familiar with the particular challenges of a foreign person owning real estate in the US. In particular you will need to be concerned about the US estate. While for US citizens that tax only applies (as things stand today) to estates exceeding $11 million, it applies at a much, much lower amount for foreign persons. In short, if the assets you have in the US at the time of your death exceed $60,000 in value, that tax will be a concern for you. There are ways to help mitigate that, but you need an estate planning or tax attorney familiar with the estate tax rules that apply to nonresident aliens to work through the tax issues.

 

[GermanKlaus]

Thank you so much!! Very relieved.

 

[zddoodah]

Is this correct?

Not even close. Please ask your neighbor to create an account here and explain why he/she thinks this is the case.

 

[adjusterjack]

Klaus, make sure you get your children involved in your estate planning. They should know where your will and financial papers are and get some familiarity with the Florida probate process.

 

[GermanKlaus]

Thanks for all your help!