Remember how I have told you to always plan ahead. I have said this a lot regarding financing the purchase of your home. This time it's about the sale of your home.

      Here's the situation. You need to pay attention to the health of your elderly parents. Be sure the title to their home is held in a manner which facilitates a smooth transfer to a buyer.

      I am not speaking here as an attorney; because I am not an attorney. However, I have had experience handling lots of transactions. That experience qualifies me to tell you about these scenarios.

      Firstly, forward planning always produces the best results. Check the details before the property goes into escrow. Don't wait until you accept an offer to tell your agent about the convoluted state of the title.

      At the very least, you, as the heir, should be on title. This way if, heaven forbid, your parent or one of them should pass away before the escrow closes, you can take over and complete the transaction.

      This is not true if you are not on title. The house will go into probate and the sale will be cancelled. The buyer will want the deposit back. And you will not be able to give it back because you are not on title. Only the people on title have that authority. Big pain at the wrong time.

      There are two kinds, levels really, of probate. (There is another one as well. But for purposes of this article, we will address briefly just the two). The formal one is that in which the estate holds assets of more than one hundred thousand and the second one is when the estate is worth less than one hundred thousand dollars.

      Here's the important difference. The formal one needs court approval before the house is sold. This process could take months or even years depending on the intricacies of the estate and the work load of the court and appraiser. Another big pain

      The mini probate for small estates does not need court approval. After the estate has been evaluated, the property may be sold by the remaining heir.

      If the house is held in trust, which is the best way, probate in avoided and you don't need to do anything. Except find the paperwork. The trust states how the sale is to be handled, who signs, in what order, if more than one signature is needed and how the proceeds of the sale are to be distributed. There can be no fussing among the heirs if the house is held in trust. Well, they might fuss; but if won't matter. All these arrangements are made while your entire family is still lucid and available.

      Best of all, the sale of the property will go smoothly. All the details can be handled easily by the trustee (s). That's you.

      So be prepared. Help your loved ones get their affairs in order before circumstances catch them, and you, in a mess.