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October 13th, 2025

The True Cost of Inheriting a Home (Part 3)

Leaving a Home, Not a Headache — Estate Planning Strategies

Passing down a home involves more than deciding who gets the keys. Without clear guidance, heirs may face unexpected costs, disagreements, and delays. Fortunately, there are estate planning tools and strategies to make the process smoother.

Planning Tools

Property held in trust with a right of occupancy: Grants someone (often a spouse or partner) the right to live in the home for life or a set period, while clarifying which expenses belong to the occupant and which the trust covers.[1]
Transfer-on-death (TOD) deed: In states that allow it, this deed lets property pass directly to a named beneficiary without probate. Responsibility for expenses becomes clear at the moment of transfer.[2]
Joint ownership with rights of survivorship: This option ensures the surviving co-owner takes title automatically, avoiding probate. However, it may trigger gift tax issues, expose the home to the co-owner’s creditors, or complicate future transactions.[3]

Reducing Conflict

Family tensions often surface when multiple heirs inherit a single property. Setting clear terms now—who can use the home, how expenses will be divided, and what happens if one heir wants out—can prevent disputes later.[4]

Preparing Heirs

If you plan to leave a home to someone who has never owned one before, walk them through the costs in advance or leave a budget outline in your estate plan. Decluttering and preparing the home now also spares beneficiaries the burden of sorting through belongings under emotional strain.[5]

👉 Clear communication plus a strong legal framework ensures your home is passed down as a gift, not a financial burden.

To learn more about estate planning, keep an eye on our Events page located at: https://www.wagnerlegalmn.com/events/.

If you’re ready to start being proactive about your estate plan, contact us to get started.

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[1] Minnesota State Bar Association, Estate Planning Guide: Right of Occupancy (2024), https://www.mnbar.org/

[2] National Conference of State Legislatures, Transfer-on-Death Deeds by State (2024), https://www.ncsl.org/

[3] Internal Revenue Service, Gift Tax Rules (2025), https://www.irs.gov/; American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, ACTEC Commentaries on Joint Ownership (2024), https://www.actec.org/

[4] Caring.com, Estate Planning and Family Disputes Survey (2023), https://www.caring.com/

[5] Margareta Magnusson, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (2018), Simon & Schuster, https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Gentle-Art-of-Swedish-Death-Cleaning/Margareta-Magnusson/9781501173240

Categories: Estate Planning

Testimonials

I was provided individualized attention and felt I was understood and the service provided in a timely fashion. Guidance to the right resources also was a big help.”

Every person we dealt with was so professional, friendly and answered all our questions and concerns.”

Jennifer Gumbel went above and beyond to help my family with our estate planning. We greatly appreciate all she did, and will be using her services in the future. We will recommend her to all of our family and friends.”

Judi Wilson was recommended to us by a very trusted friend. We could not have been more pleased with our experience (start to finish) with Judi’s expertise, comfort level and thoroughness. Would highly recommend to anyone needing expert advice, cou…”

We were referred to Jennifer Gumbel by our retired attorney. She provided excellent service in updating our estate plan. Highly recommend her to others.”

We were referred to Wagner Oehler, LTD by our financial advisor for estate planning. We met with Alyssa Jerde and Elijah Kane and had a wonderful experience. They were friendly, courteous, and highly professional. Elements of the Trust were fully exp…”

Very happy with Wagner Oehler service for our new Trust documents. Highly recommend.”

I worked with Jennifer Gumbel and Becky Henry as the trustee of my mom’s estate. Both were excellent to work with and they made the process of handling the trust and selling real estate very smooth. I appreciated the feeling of kindness in all…”

The service provided by Wagner Oehler attorney office was great. The security system utilized was trustfull. The quick answers were submitted at the right time. Thank you.”

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They do excellent work and are very thorough. Would highly recommend them!”

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It was a pleasure doing business with this firm. Judi was very courteous, professional and knowledgeable in her field. We will certainly consider them as our source for any future estate planning needs, as they develop.”

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Jennifer Gumbel was a great help with our estate planning and took time to answer all our questions, made the Probate journey easy. I would highly recommend Jennifer to my friends and family. She never makes you feel like you need to hurry she gives…”

Knowledgable, understanding and caring.”

Jennifer was clear and concise while explaining our needs. She answered our questions in a very timely manner. The costs were very competitive and a great value for our life plan needs. Highly recommend.”

Jason Wagner is an impressively intelligent, and experienced family lawyer with a heavy emphasis on farm business and real estate law. He has built up an incredible support staff and additional lawyers to cover a broader spectrum of the complex busin…”

Very happy with Wagner Oehler service for our new Trust documents. Highly recommend.”

We were pleased with the service we received. Jason Wagner answered questions the we had and Tamara Scroggins reached out to us to make sure everything was in order.”

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Excellent law firm… very friendly team to work with everything explained very well.. and done in a timely manner”

Jason did a fantastic job working on our trust and business entities. He and his firm get five stars!!”

Very happy with Wagner Oehler service for our new Trust documents. Highly recommend.”

Great people to work with. Highly recommended.”

Judi and Elijah were great to work with when my wife and I set up our living revocable trust. The online questionnaire was also extremely helpful in helping us organize our assets and make sure we had everything covered. I would highly recommend Wagn…”

God bless your staff. Everyone here has been so patient with me. Your staff is excellent.”

I am very pleased with the work Cole and his team did on my real estate transaction. Cole is extremely knowledgeable and was so easy to work with. Corresponding with Tamara was a breeze also. I will definitely continue to work with them in the future…”

Cole grew up on a family farm so he understands the concerns farmers have”

Very professional. Answered all of our questions. Everything was done in a timely matter. They made Estate planning very easy. We waited so long because we were worried it was going to be so much work and effort. But they did most of the work. They e…”

We started doing estate planning with Bill Oehler in the 1980’s and have continued to work with this firm. Now we work with Jason. He continues to meet our needs just as well as Bill did. We are very pleased.”

We were very pleased with our estate planning process. Our attorney was knowledgeable, and also helped us with the follow-up work needed for the plan to have any value.”

All interactions with Wagner Oehler, Ltd were very positive and beneficial. I recommended two friends to this law firm and their needs were met in a professional manner. I would recommend them to others in need of legal assistance..”

Knowledgeable, understanding and caring.”

Alyssa was very friendly and accommodating. She made it easy to understand what the trust was about.”

Jennifer helped me with my mother’s trust. She made sense of things when I was unsure what to do. Jennifer was always easy to reach and she always returned calls very quickly. I’d definitely use her services again, if a need arises. Thanks Jennif…”

I am very pleased with the service received from Jason and all staff in creating my estate plan. The spectrum of tasks accomplished and information received far exceeded anything achieved in my previous estate plan. I feel very secure.”

The service provided by the Wagner Oehler attorney office was great. The security system utilized was trustful. The quick answers were submitted at the right time. Thank you.”

Jason was great in handling our real estate issues. He wrote a letter for us that was very detailed and professional and addressed the issue to the buyers, all while supporting us. We greatly appreciated his advice, to the extreme of using his off ho…”

Great customer service, answered all my questions, quick turn around with documents!”

Thank you for your review rating and for trusting Wagner Oehler to handle your case. Please reach out anytime if we can be of assistance in the future.”

What a relief to have worked with Judi Wilson at Wagner Oehler. She took her time to explain things well, and we’re confident in everything that’s been set up. We loved the followup videos they sent after the final meeting. Great reminder…”

Jason was extremely professional, kind and helpful. We would highly recommend Wagner Oehler Ltd Legal Services!”

Alyssa and the staff were courteous and professional. Helped us answer any questions and help guide us in the process. They made the process very easy. Loved how they explained everything to me in an understandable way. I will definitely use them in…”

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Wagner Oehler Ltd. have been very helpful and through I’m helping me prepare and estate plan and with performing title transfer roles for real estate sales after my wife died. The attorneys and staff were very helpful, pleasant, and patient answeri…”

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Working with Alec was so nice! He worked with us on the sale of our home and was always easy to contact…… even with a question on the weekend. It was seamless! He is personable and takes the time to explain options. We are so glad that we connect…”

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The transaction went smoothly, and I felt welcome to ask questions.”

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Bill is a great attorney! He’s served us/me well for many years!”

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The True Cost of Inheriting a Home (Part 3)

Leaving a Home, Not a Headache — Estate Planning Strategies

Planning Tools

Reducing Conflict

Preparing Heirs

Practice Areas

Send Us A Message

Testimonials

Contact Us

<img class="size-medium wp-image-4578 alignright" src="https://www.wagnerlegalmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/440/2025/10/Part-3-True-Cost-of-Inheriting-a-Home-300x251.png" alt="" width="300" height="251" />The True Cost of Inheriting a Home (Part 3)

Leaving a Home, Not a Headache — Estate Planning Strategies

Planning Tools

Reducing Conflict

Preparing Heirs

Practice Areas

Send Us A Message

Testimonials

Contact Us

The True Cost of Inheriting a Home (Part 3)