LEGAL ADVICE!!! I don't have a will, i am worried my children will have problems getting the house..?

I am married with 3 kids 20 and up. we are traveling to italy later in the summer and that has raised questions about legal dilemna over our house. I have recently heard that if you have HOMSTEAD the government can take your house away after you die. I wanna know if this is true and what could i do to stop this process. I don't have a willl and i wanna make sure they don't take the house away from them... my mortgage isn't fully paid off yet either.. thanks if you can help!!LEGAL ADVICE!!! I don't have a will, i am worried my children will have problems getting the house..?
Have a quit claim deed filled out so that it goes to one of your children and then the state cant attach it in the unlikely event of your death while overseas





Additional information:





A quitclaim deed typically is executed when the property isn't sold -- when the owner dies and bequeaths it to someone, or when the owner gets married and wants to add the spouse's name to the title, or when a former spouse's name is removed as part of a divorce settlement or when the property is transferred to a living trust.LEGAL ADVICE!!! I don't have a will, i am worried my children will have problems getting the house..?
If you have no will, your estate is settled under the probate laws of your state. USUALLY that would mean it would go directly to your spouse, and then to your children if you have no spouse (or if you die together).





Your Homestead designation simply means that is your home, and is protected from certain debts you owe during your life. Upon death, all your assets are used to settle all of your debts. Anything remaining goes to your heirs, and you have no way to avoid your assets going towards your debt.





Write a will. There are lots of online sources to do so yourself, and then just have it notarized and give each of your children one copy. Having a legal will saves money in probate fees, it just takes away the uncertainty.
My answer comes from California. Homestead in other states may be completely different.





A California Homestead Declaration prevents creditors from taking the first $100,000 of equity to satisfy a judgment. If the homeowner dies, he no longer needs protection from creditors so when his estate is settled, claims of creditors are satisfied first.





If you are worried about your children getting your property when you check out, in Italy or any place else, you should consult an attorney about drawing up a will and maybe placing your home in a family trust. You would buy peace of mind as well as having your estate on the right track.
Draw up a will, and make sure it's notarized. It's not that hard. You can get info on how to draw up a will online and then all you have to do is pay a small fee for the notary. If you want additional protection, then consult an atty about a trust for the house. Problem solved.
Um ... then make a will. It's not hard, you can download the form and sign it in front of witnesses or a notary, and you're golden. You'll have some peace of mind.
Without a will, the property goes to the state, so write up a will now
create a will. go to legalzoom.com
call your lawyer and ask him. Usually people have wills. Maybe it's time to get a will. If you're concerned an attorney will fit you in before you make your trip. There is a specific way wills are written and there are many attorneys that would do that. Usually a detailed will is written if assets would consist of $65,000 or more. Other than that it's a simple will. But in either case you'd need one of your kids to be the administrator of your will so before they fight it out among themselves it would be good to make your first and second choice now. Don't go by what you hear by the grapevine. Get the truth and the facts from an attorney. Make a will. And while you're there also make a living will and do the documents that say who will take care of your home and your physical treatment, who will make decisions for you, and your personal effects and finances if you are unable to do that. That may be 3 or 4 documents that you'd have to sign. It's all worth doing. Get there quick.





You can't just download all those documents because each state has special wording that must be used for each of those documents, and like for a will and living will you'd need 3 witnesses to sign in front of each other and you sign in front of them. Each page must be initialled by all, etc. There is a procedure or the judge will throw it out when the time comes that these things occur.





Someone above suggested a quick claim deed. There is no such thing....what it's called is a ';Quit Claim Deed';. It means you sign over your property NOW (that you quit the deed, that your name remains on the deed but the home no longer belongs to you, and in that case whomever you sign your house over to must pay the home insurance, taxes and make the payments), when it's signed. I don't think you want to do that. At least not now.