What About the House?
By Claire Crowley and Ben Palkowski, Old Colony Law
Published in Northampton Living | November 2025
This is a common question we hear at Old Colony Law. For most of us, our home is our largest asset—both in terms of financial and emotional value. Deciding what happens to your real estate upon your death requires careful consideration.
Should your house be sold and the proceeds distributed to your beneficiaries, or should the property be kept in the family? If the real estate is sold, do the proceeds pass outright to your beneficiaries or will they be held in trust for safekeeping? Should you use a will or a trust to accomplish your wishes?
Benefits of a Will
You can leave real estate in your will. This approach is simple, but real estate left by will must go through probate—the court-supervised process of transferring assets after death. The probate process, especially when real estate is involved, can result in delays in the transfer of your home itself or the proceeds of the sale to your beneficiaries.
In some situations, probate may be less burdensome. If you decide to use a will to transfer your property, probate can be minimized by granting specific powers to your personal representative in your will, thus giving them permission to sell or transfer your real estate and hire professionals, including real estate agents and attorneys, as needed.
Advantages of a Trust
Using a revocable trust to transfer your real estate provides you with flexibility during your lifetime and efficiency after death for your beneficiaries. Revocable trusts avoid the probate process, thereby maintaining your privacy and ensuring a smooth and timely transfer of your real estate to your beneficiaries without the time and expense of court.
During your lifetime, you retain full control of your home once it is titled into your revocable trust—you can live in the house, refinance it, or sell it as your life circumstances change.
For individuals who want to leave their real estate to their children, trusts also create an opportunity to protect and manage the inheritance and ensure that assets from the sale cannot be taken by your child’s potential divorcing spouse or lost to lawsuits by creditors. Trusts can ensure that real estate and the proceeds from the sale stay in your family.
How a Life Estate Deed Can Help
Claire Crowley & Ben Palkowski
Old Colony Law
413 387 0080
oldcolonylaw.com
In addition, a life estate deed allows you the right to live in your home for the rest of your life while naming who will inherit it when you pass. This type of transfer happens automatically at your death and avoids the probate process. A life estate deed is not always ideal because you lose full control of your real estate during your lifetime, requiring the consent of your beneficiaries should you decide to sell your home.
You have many options for deciding what should happen to your house upon your death. Your estate plan should capture your wishes, protect your family, and provide a smooth transfer of your most valuable asset.
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