Going back to real estate, I see homes now advertised like this:
https://www.geekwire.com/home-of-the-day/ideal-work-home-setting-offices/
His and her offices! ?
Our house is currently on the market and they advertised first that it was 4 BRs and a home office and not 5 BRs. The ad also said âtwo dedicated office spaces.â
Hereâs something else: https://sf.curbed.com/2020/6/2/21277355/san-francisco-rent-prices-coronavirus-2020-may.
@ Hoggirl âŠI am not an expert, but there are rules for survivor SS benefits ( deceased spouse), and rules for spousal benefits that include a divorced spouse or a living spouse that might result In increased benefits based on the his/ her spouseâs benefit as oppose to his/ her own benefit.
@Hoggirl, surviving spouses are eligible to receive survivor spousal benefits at age 50 if disabled, age 60 or later if not, and can opt to delay taking own benefits to FRA or up to age 70.
The option to take a living spouseâs benefit is no longer an option for anyone born after 1/1/1954. If spouse has already claimed their benefits, one will get the higher of what they are eligible to receive at the time they apply.
Sorry - I wasnât meaning to derail the thread with details about who could and could not receive SS benefits. I should have tagged @Nhatrang as I was merely trying to respond to the query about receiving SS benefits without working. People who have never worked can receive them. Yes, I understand the wage earner must be deceased for the spouse to receive anything.
@BunsenBurner - I must have had a forward-thinking friend. When she and her husband designed and built their home back in the late 90s (quite large at 7,000 sq ft) they incorporated his and her offices.
âHowever, as ucb notes, the benie has no interest in the account while the owner is alive, so one canât access the funds without a death cert. (if the funds might be needed to pay bills, for example)â - True. Thatâs a good reminder that children should have power of attorney docs (for finances and medical), in case parents are someday not longer able to handle their own paperwork.
About 6 years ago we went to a community class to write a will (and living will and power of attorney docs). Thatâs when we learned that we are a simple case. Almost all of our assets, except the house, could have assigned beneficiaries. Our assets already had spouse as beneficiary (or co-owner), most with children as alternates. But we did find that our credit union account, with much more money than when we opened it in 1993, did not have the children specified. We had to go in person, fill out special paperwork to define that.
When my last parent died, all assets were POD or TOD to several beneficiaries⊠No home, and their car value was low enough that county allowed direct transfer to whomever paid the funeral expenses. No probate needed at all. It was very simple, and still took 2 years! Since there was no probate, no one was officially named executor. That would have been me, by the will, so I did my best to coordinate, but each institution had itâs own idea of necessary paperwork from each beneficiary.
I think I beat your friend. In late 80s, we had his and hers. I dinât even think it was a thing. We both worked, so we each needed own office.
What does that mean? What docs should they have other than wills? Are there docs designating Power of Attorney? I think we are missing that.
Donât forget that a power of attorney dies with the death of the parent. It only works when the parent is still alive, so it alone cannot be used to pay bills.
California allows transfer on death for homes. Might check with your state.
Thanks @bluebayou. That is probably why i had to pay some bills myself when my father died (and my mother was in the hospital at the same time). and I had POA for both.
I was hoping that I wasnât appointed in my motherâs will as executor, but no such luck. However, I am also trustee of the trust established by my father for her lifetime benefit (and then to their kids as beneficiaries). So I should be able to pay whatever bills arise.
It you do TOD/POD on the accounts, but will have illiquid assets, like a home to be sold, in the estate, you might be smart to leave an account not TOD with funds to carry the house expenses-taxes, insurance, repairs, etc.
Correct, but it appears that over half of the states allow some sort of ToD for real property. (I was surprised it was so high)
Regardless, even if the home transfers ToD, the future benie will still need to have some cash to be able pay the homeâs expenses while awaiting a death cert.
I hope my benie would have enough savings to get through a couple of weeks or months to take care of inheritance. The benie will recoup the expense soon enough.
âRecoup the expense soon enoughâ - That is a great hope in functional families, but my advice applies to dysfunctional families. There will be an argument about even two-three months of expenses. Have cash available for this stuff.
Agreed. MIL recently died and H is co-executor and the only one local to the estate. Estate attorney told him that he (or one of his siblings and that isnât going to happen) will have to cover ongoing expenses until death certificates arrive, letters testamentary are issued and an estate account can be set up so he can be reimbursed. Canât wait to hear from his siblings regarding those reimbursements, even though they will all be documented properly. I highly recommend setting things up so there are funds to cover funeral and ongoing expenses.
Do you suspect he wonât get reimbursed from the estate when it settles? Can he be reimbursed first before the estates is distributed as intended?
My niece hates my brother because he reimbursed himself for his expenses related to her dadâs estate. She felt he was taking what was rightfully hers. People get weird when it comes to estates and money.
Can H send an e-mail to the attorney and get âapprovalâ for paying todayâs expenses now out of your joint account and get reimbursed from the estate once the attorney gets teh paperwork going? That way, H could tell the other family members what he plans to do and that the attorney approved it.
(Sure, wonât much matter if other benies are whack-a-doodles, but it covers H for any legal action.)