Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
if property is being transferred before one dies, does it have to be complete before one dies and if not, if transferring is not completed because the estate had to complete it, does that property become part of the estate or not?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Not sure what you mean by the transfer not being complete. For the purposes of ownership, the transfer effectively takes place when the transferor signs the new deed over to the Transferee. However, it must be recorded in order to be perfected. A deed signed before death but not recorded CAN be recorded after death. Just keep in mind the beneficiaries of the Estate could challenge the transfer.
If you are referring to a contract for sale and death occurs before the closing, then the property would not have transferred prior to death. If the property is not transferred prior to the death then it COULD become part of the Estate, depending on how the property was titled at the time of death, and may have to go through the Probate process.
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