INFORMATION

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1. The Grantor of the Beneficiary Deed is the current Owner of the real property and there may be more than one Grantor or Owners set forth in a Beneficiary Deed. In the event real property is owned by more than one Owner and one of those Owners has died, then the surviving Owner will be required to create, sign and record an Affidavit As To Death of Owner (see Affidavit page on this website) prior to recording the Beneficiary Deed.

2. The Grantee of the Beneficiary Deed is the person whom the Owner desires to transfer the real property upon the Owner's death. The Grantee is the "beneficiary" of such transfer and deed. There may be more than one Grantee.

3. In the event a Grantee predeceases the Grantor then the Grantee's living descendants shall "step-up" to his or her interest by law if such living descendants are also the direct descendants of the Grantor. If such descendants are not the descendants of the Grantor, then the deceased Grantee's interest terminates by law unless the designation "LDPS" (lineal descendants of the Grantee in equal shares) has been included after the name of the Grantee. In the event a Grantee predeceases the Grantor it is normally recommended the Grantor review the Beneficiary Deed and update accordingly.

4. In the event the Grantor desires to name more than one beneficiary, then such beneficiaries, or Grantees, may hold title to such real property upon the death of the Grantor either as Joint Tenants with the Right of Survivorship or asTenants in Common.

• If the Grantees hold title as Joint Tenants with the Right of Survivorship and one of them should die during their joint ownership then the surviving joint beneficiaries shall "inherit" such deceased beneficiary's interest in the real property.
• If the Grantees hold title as Tenants in Common and one of them should die during their joint ownership then the deceased beneficiary's interest shall transfer according to such beneficiary's estate plan, normally by his or her Last Will & Testament, and thereby requiring the probate process. This may result in the transfer of such real property interest to his or her surviving spouse and/or children, or other individuals, depending upon the provisions of the Last Will & Testament. The probate process may be avoided in this situation by such beneficiary signing and recording his or her own separate Beneficiary Deed for his or her respective Tenant in Common interest in the real property prior to his or her death.

5. The Beneficiary Deed must be signed by the Grantor in the presence of a Notary Public and must be recorded with the local County Recorder of Deeds Office where the real property is located before it becomes effective under law. The Grantee does not sign such deed.

6. Upon signature and notarization the Grantor will need to walk-in such deed or mail such deed to the local County Recorder of Deeds Office with a check for the recording fee and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The cost charged by the local County Recorder of Deeds Office to record a Beneficiary Deed averages between $24.00 and $30.00. The Grantor should contact the local County Recorder of Deeds Office to inquire as to the fee charged. Upon recordation the local County Recorder of Deeds Office will mail the original Beneficiary Deed back to the Grantor.

7. In the future should the Grantor decide to modify or change the provisions of the Beneficiary Deed the Grantor may simply have a new Benenficiary Deed drafted. Upon the Grantor's signature, notarization and recordation, as explained above, the resulting new Beneficiary Deed will supercede and terminate the previous Beneficiary Deed.

9. The provisions relating to the creation and implementation of the Missouri Beneficiary Deed are set forth in Section 461.025 of Chapter 461 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, also known and the Missouri Nonprobate Transfers Law.

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For more estate planning information please visit our other websites at

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www.missouriestateplanning.info

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 www.missouridurablepowerofattorney.com

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