You may have heard of title theft. While it’s a pretty scary concept, it isn’t very common and there are some ways to protect yourself and your home or investment properties. What does any of this have to do with estate planning? Well, we are glad you asked.
Forged Wills and Title Theft
Title theft usually occurs when someone forges documents or otherwise fraudulently obtains records linking their name to the ownership of property. One case that was in the news involved a husband and wife in a blended family. The wife, who was clearly the owner of several rental properties held in an LLC, passed away suddenly.
A will dispute ensued, with one will stating that the husband was the executor and sole beneficiary, and the other stating that her son from a previous marriage was the executor. If you have two competing wills the first question would be “Is one of the wills forged?” and if the answer is no, the most recent will is used.
In addition to potentially forging a will, it was alleged that sometime shortly after the wife’s death her husband used his wife’s login information for the state website to access LLC documents and transfer LLC ownership information into his name. Then he transferred those properties out of the LLC and into his own name. Because he wasn’t the proper agent for the business, all those actions were fraudulent, and this man was criminally prosecuted for the title theft.
How Can Planning Help Prevent Title Theft?
While this husband was prosecuted, it is more common for local law enforcement to send you to a civil lawyer if you believe that fraudulent activity is occurring in conjunction with an state, even though fraud of any kind is illegal. Because of this, it is often very costly to fight against an attack on the legal rights of any beneficiary, and many people cannot afford to pursue the issue. Proper estate planning can help you ensure that your bases are covered and your assets are protected. An experienced business planning attorney will guide you through the process of setting up your LLC, which is so much more than registering your business with the state.
Maybe you don’t own a business but want to protect your personal assets. An irrevocable trust provides your assets with many protections, including ensuring that the right people are in place to take over if you are incapacitated. A well-constructed irrevocable trust also avoids probate, the legal process of validating a will and settling the affairs of the deceased after passing away.
What Kind of Protections Are In Place Already?
There are many steps along the way to prevent title theft from happening. Title officers and companies are very careful to run title reports and conduct title research to make sure that title fraud doesn’t happen.
If your properties are in an LLC, some state registrations have affordable monitoring options, and if any changes are made to the LLC, the state will automatically alert you. There are also subscription services that you can use to monitor your titles, which may be worthwhile if you have a significant amount of assets to protect.
Contact Your Trusted Legal Advisor Today
While we are practicing attorneys, we cannot give legal advice through this blog. We can recommend that you contact a qualified business planning attorney and/or estate planning attorney to ensure that in the event of an untimely death, your personal and business assets will be protected from title fraud.
To listen to our full podcast about title theft, click here.