Before You Fly South
By Tom Williams

Quincy - Many of our readers will be heading south this winter for either a few weeks or the whole season. In fact, a recent journal entitled Snowbirds, Sunbirds, and Stayers: Seasonal Migration of Elderly Adults in Florida, states an estimated 800,000 seniors will migrate to Florida during the winter months. If you are one of these lucky “snowbirds,” there are a few things you should consider before flying south.

To Rent or to Buy?

If you wish to spend an entire season at a particular location and plan on spending at least the next five years in that location, then purchasing a unit may make the most economic sense. If you wish to stay at a location for only one or two months a year and are not sure if a particular location is where you want to live, then renting is a better option. For example, you can rent a condominium overlooking the ocean on the Florida coast from anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000 per month. In either case, I recommend contacting a real estate broker in the desired area of where you would like to rent or buy to research potential listings. If you are unfamiliar with the area, call any national real estate broker in your hometown. They will be able to refer you to a vacation area and a broker to assist you.

Placing your vacation property in a trust

If you decide to purchase real estate, you should make sure your property is deeded into a trust in order to avoid the legal dilemma of probating your estate in both Massachusetts and the state you wish to vacation in. If you do not put the estate in a trust it will result in a double probate, which is both costly and time consuming.

If you are concerned with potential Medicaid liens, you may want to consider purchasing the property in a trust with your children as the beneficiaries. If this “gift” is in existence for at least five years prior to entering a nursing home, the parcel will avoid a potential Medicaid lien.

Contact a Real Estate Attorney

If you are buying real estate you should strongly consider buying title insurance from one of the major title insurance companies to protect you against faulty titles or fraud. Contact a local attorney in the area where you are purchasing your property. They will explain to you how the local real estate taxes and assessments are determined and implemented. They will also be able to assist you on negotiating your Purchase and Sales Agreement. For example, Florida law is very flexible as to who pays the closing costs, which can at times be very significant. If you are the buyer, your attorney could then negotiate the purchase and sales agreement to have the seller pay the cost.

If you have a taxable estate, which in today’s market is more than $1 million for the state of Massachusetts and more than $2 million for the Federal Government, and wish to buy out of state real estate you and your tax advisor or attorney should discuss who should be named the owner of the property to ensure you achieve the best tax benefits.

Establish a Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy

Whether you rent or buy, make sure that you have established a Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy, and that these documents are easily accessible to the person(s) to whom you have granted them.

Consider the re-sale

When you purchase vacation real estate the re-sale market is sometimes not as lively as you would prefer. Therefore, the best advice I can give you is to make sure you are 100% familiar with the area and that you want to live in your vacation home for at least five years.

Have a great winter and don’t forget your sun block!

About The Author
Concentrating in Estate Planning, Elder Law and Real Estate Law, Thomas F. Williams & Associates, P.C. serves its clients with the following disciplines: Estate Planning and Administration (Wills, Trusts, and Probate); Real Estate Law; Civil Litigation; Criminal Law; Elder Law; Family & Marital Law; Immigration Law; Landlord & Tenant Law; and Personal Injury. For more information about Thomas F. Williams & Associates, P.C., please go to www.lawofficetwilliams.com, call (617) 847-4200 or email info@lawofficetwilliams.com.