In the state of Ohio, how can I insure a house and property that is still deeded to my deceased grandmother?

Question

We have a house and acreage that is still in my long deceased grandmother's name. There are 8 kids in our immediate family and nobody wants it solely in their name, as it would be unfair to the others. We do, however, want to rent the house out so my mom will have extra income. The insurance companies I have checked with say they can't insure it unless we can show, by lawyers papers, that it is being transferred into a living person's name. Is there any loop holes to this and/or is there any way to insure the property so we can rent it out? We thought about just having the person that rents it put renter's insurance on the place, but that would only cover their contents inside the house, so that is not an option. This is for the state of Ohio. Thank you in advance to anyone who can help with this!

Answer 1

You can, just have the policy written in the name of "the estate of Jane Doe" or whatever her name is. It will have to be put on a dwelling fire policy, to show that it is tenant occupied, and the executor of her estate, or the trustee, will have to sign the application.

I'm not sure who you're checking with, but an independent agent should be able to do this. The problem is, rental properties are the dregs of the insurance world - tons of work, not much money, most agents won't write a rental stand-alone - so one of you eight are going to have to call YOUR homeowners agents, explain the situation, and have them write the policy as a consideration, using YOUR homeowners and auto to help balance out the account.

Answer 2

Generally it is necessary to go through probate or, in the case of smaller estates, a less formal procedure that is still under the general supervision of the probate court, before the deceased's property can be legally distributed. Even if a person dies with a Will (which is known as dying "testate"), a court generally has to have an opportunity to allow others to object to the Will. For example, if the deceased owned real estate in his own name, no knowledgeable outside person would accept title to the property, and no bank would lend a new buyer mortgage money on it, unless the estate went through probate so "clear title" could be given the new buyer. Similarly, few outsiders would enter into any other transactions involving the deceased's property before the Will is "admitted to probate" and/or someone is lawfully appointed to act for the estate.

The Deed is a document that transfers title in real estate. In the sale of a piece of property, the seller is the "grantor" and the buyer is the "grantee". There are 6 statutory forms for deeds in Ohio.

* General Warranty Deed
* Limited Warranty Deed
* Quit Claim Deed
* Survivorship Tenancy
* Transfer on Death Deed
* Executor or Trustee Deed

Survivorship tenancy relates to the usual joint and survivor type of ownership that a husband and wife might have. But, this is not a deed which only married couples can use. Any 2 or more people can own property jointly, with rights of survivorship. Thus, 2 sisters might own a house with a survivorship tenancy deed and when the first sister dies, the property is automatically (or rather, still) the property of the surviving sister. Similarly, 2 friends might jointly own property and if one dies, the other becomes the sole owner. And, this deed can be used by more than 2 people. A group of people might own a house and they each have joint ownership with the others. If any die, then the ownership of the deceased person goes to all the remaining owners in proportion to their ownership of the property.

A Transfer on Death deed is a relatively new form of transfer in Ohio. It allows an owner to transfer property to another person (the beneficiary) directly, upon the death of the owner. The beneficiary has no rights to the property at all, until the death of the owner. This can be a very useful device for making efficient estate planning arrangements.

Finally, the Executor or Trustee Deed is used by a person who is the executor of a person's estate, or the trustee of a trust (among other fiduciary actions). It is not so common in relative terms, but is necessary when dealing with an estate or with property held in trust.

I highly recommend that people speak with their attorney to determine how to best recognize their ownership of real property. Our homes are typically one of our most valuable assets and represent a significant portion of our net worth. It is important to get good advice on how best to manage our property. Commonly, these issues are examined in a larger estate planning process. But you don't have to have millions of dollars to justify making an estate plan. It does require some thought about what you want to do, and who you want to benefit as time goes forward. Even for most middle class individuals, this requires some thought and preparation to be sure you benefit from the available tools, such as the proper deed on your property.

A will is sound business and should not be neglected. Anyone who owns property, real or personal, even though the amount may seem small, should have a will. The individual making the will can name the executor of his or her choice rather than having the court name an administrator. As in every state, there are laws in Ohio which direct how the property of a deceased person who dies intestate (having made no valid will) is to be distributed. If a person without a valid will dies with a spouse and no children, the spouse receives all the property. If a person dies and there is no surviving spouse, the property goes to the children or their lineal descendants, per stirpes.

Go to this link: http://www.probatect.org/services/faqs/forms_faqs_estate.html

Answer 3

Have the estate transfer 12.5% of the ownership to each person, or form an LLC, or other joint ownership group, then take out a policy as a group with each person paying an equal share of the premiums. An insurance company needs to know that someone will have a financial loss if anything happens to the property--- the theory is, you will be more likely to burn the place down for the insurance money if you don't own it to begin with. Cars work the same way-- you can't take out an insurance policy on someone else's car.

Answer 4

A deceased person cannot own title to property. However, the Estate of a decedent can hold title. Do you mean that the Estate of your deceased grandmother owns title? If so, then the Executor of the Estate can transfer title. Each heir would, and probably already does hold, an undivided partial interest in the property. Consult a lawyer experienced in such matters.

Answer 5

One idea would be to transfer the ownership of the house to a trust created for the benefit of the children. The trustee of the trust (typically one of the children) could then apply for insurance as the owner. You will need to consult with an attorney to set this type of arrangement up and to be sure it works in your situation. Keep in mind that there may be additional recordkeeping such as financial information and an annual 1041 fiduciary tax return required.

Answer 6

you should do a probate to get the deed declared to be in the names of the heirs. then have the heirs each deed it into a family trust that you form for this purpose with one person to be the trustee and manage the asset for the beneficiaries of the trust. this is very easy and cheap to do. evrybody gets a family trust for thei property to avoid future probate problems.
it is not leagly required to have insurance to rent out a property. so what is your problem do you want insurance or do you want to rent it out? if you are worried about being sued by tenants then you are right. you should have insurance for liability and also for hazadrs even if you do not rent it out. so you have two problems
1) insurance
2) renting it out
if it is certian who all the legal heirs are, then go ahead right away and have them each sign a quitclaim dee to an elecetd person, usch as your mother, to hold title in trust for the others. then she can get insurance and rent it out. of course you have to trust her.
that is why it is called a trust.
if you cannot trust your mother you have more than a legal problem.

the rent must go to a person who will pay the tax on it too. it is taxable income. you do not wnat each pwrson to have to colect and account for and pay tax on 1/8 the rent each month. betetr to pick a person and let them be the responsible party. like mom

any attorney can set this up for you for about $1,000 or less.
get each person to chip in and get it done

Answer 7

All eight of you should get together with a lawyer and have the deed drawn up in one person's name. My grandmother left her home to her six children when she died and one of them bought out the other's parts with a stipulation that if any of them ever needed to come back there to live, they could as long as they paid a reasonable rent. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Your family needs to have a family meeting and elect one of the heirs everyone can agree on as being honest and deed the property to that person with stipulations. That's one way.

The best and most airtight method is to form a LLC with each heir being equal pardners. That is good for the taxes and liability.

In Ohio you can form a LLC for around $125.00. And you can do it on the Internet.

Answer 9

you are going to have to have a deed made either to all of the family by name or you all are going to have to settle on one person to have the house in his or her name. when that one person gets his name on it watch him change and you may not get your share of it. i suggest you all get your name on one deed consult a lawyer and make sure you get one that is not a crook