Who Owns Your Home?
Submitted by Financial Advisors in Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL | CFO on September 13th, 2019You have done your estate plan and you now have a shiny new Revocable Living Trust. You dutifully retitle your home in the name of the Trust as advised by your counsel. You’re all set.
Along comes Hurricane Dorian, or Irma, of any other large storm, and you suffer damage to your home. But is it really your home? Actually, the Trust owns your home. You may be in for a big surprise when your insurance company refuses to pay you for the damage because you don’t own the home. The one thing you didn’t do, because no one told you, was to add the Trust to your insurance coverage.
Every insurance company will handle this differently. The best thing to do is notify your insurance agent immediately about the transfer of title and let him or her guide you through the process of including the Trust in your homeowner’s insurance coverage. The agent will know what your company requires in the way of endorsements to properly cover your home should the need arise. Your attorney and your agent should also review your policy to ensure that you are adequately covered.
The same applies if you have transferred ownership of your car or other physical property to your Trust. Umbrella insurance should also be reviewed and added to the list of insurances that will need to be endorsed to include the Trust. This may be a lengthy process, but well worth it if you ever face the need for your insurance.
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