Earlier this summer, MGD Law learned about a volunteer opportunity for attorneys to help residents of St. Louis County with basic estate planning if they are record owners of real estate located within the county and have an annual income under $55,000. A program participant only pays the deed recording fees. The program is called the “Homeowner Support Referral Program,” and is administered through the County Recorder of Deeds. The County is working on a web page, but in the meantime, the following flyer describes the program.

The program coordinator books program participants’ appointments with the volunteer attorneys in 20-minute increments and provides volunteers with a copy of the current deed naming the program participant, as well as form affidavits, beneficiary deeds, and quit claim deeds to complete. The program participants are instructed to bring in copies of relevant death certificates and full legal names and addresses for relevant parties.

The attorney reviews the deed and supporting documents. After review, the attorney interviews the program participant to find out what they are trying to achieve, like removal of a deceased spouse’s name from the title to the property, or the recording of a new beneficiary deed, which is a revocable deed, naming a future beneficiary of the property to avoid probate of the real estate. After obtaining the relevant information, the attorney completes the form by hand. Completed forms are handed off to the program coordinator who sets a future appointment for the program participant to return and sign typed and “recording-ready” versions of the forms.

The County also provides free copies of the Missouri Bar’s HIPAA Authorization and Health Care Power of Attorney and Declaration.  Participants can designate their wishes regarding life support on the Living Will portion of the form, and name one or more Health Care Agents to make medical decisions on their behalf if they cannot make those decisions for themselves. These forms were prepared by Missouri Bar estate planning attorneys and are available to the general public here. Once the program participants have completed the Health Care forms and return to sign their affidavit or deed, they are provided with a notary public and two witnesses to execute the real estate and health care forms.

The program does not handle more complex estate planning issues, such as the preparation of Wills or Revocable Trusts, and it does not handle post-death administration or probate issues. County residents will still need to hire estate planning or post-death administration attorneys to assist with these more complex matters. However, many of our fellow County residents with simple assets benefit tremendously from getting a beneficiary deed in place to avoid probate on their homes, and a Health Care Power of Attorney and Declaration in place to express their wishes regarding medical decisions and life support.

Probate can also be avoided on vehicles by adding a Transfer on Death (TOD) provision at any driver’s license office and adding a Transfer on Death (TOD) or Pay on Death (POD) designation to bank accounts, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies.

Real estate has long been one of the biggest reasons simple estates have been unable to avoid probate, so hats off to the Recorder of Deeds for leading this beneficial volunteer program, bringing estate planning attorneys to the table with qualifying County residents by removing the financial obstacles many of the County’s residents face when it comes to simple estate planning.

I recently volunteered for my first shift at the North County location—the old Northwest Plaza in the County Government building at 715 Northwest Plaza, St. Ann, Missouri 63074. The volunteer coordinator, Kelly Le Chien, Special Services Coordinator for the Saint Louis County Revenue department, let me choose the date, time, and number of hours I could volunteer. During my shift I helped nine homeowners with affidavits, beneficiary deeds, and one quit claim deed.

I urge my fellow estate planning attorneys and retired attorneys to volunteer today. It felt good to use my estate planning tools and knowledge of deeds and non-probate transfers to help the program participants avoid unnecessary probate estates, and the program coordinator could not have made it easier for volunteer attorneys to assist.

Please call 314-615-7100 for more information or to enroll in the program.

This material is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Receipt and use of this information, by itself, does not create an attorney client relationship.  You should consult with your attorney, tax professional, and financial advisor when creating and implementing your estate plan. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. 

As a convenience, this website provides links to various third-party websites. Such linked websites are not under the control of the Firm, and the Firm assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the contents of such websites or the appropriateness of any forms for your particular situation that are available on those websites.