Putting together the deeds and necessary paperwork for the process of estate planning can be overwhelming or even confusing, which is why many people choose to retain the services of an estate planning lawyer early on in the process and regularly as their life changes. 
As an adult child, your parents might decide that they wish to give you a deed to their house but won’t be recording it until after they pass away. While this can be done, it is not always a good idea. Having unrecorded deeds was a previous estate planning strategy used by attorneys many years ago. Although this wasn’t a widespread practice, this planning technique was used occasionally by certain estate planning lawyers. You certainly can record an old unrecorded deed, but it can be complex and not worth the benefits. The possible problems associated with this practice could outweigh the benefits – things can get misplaced, lost or thrown away. Plenty of people who schedule consultations with their estate planning attorney might not have an idea where the original deed to the home is located. The thought of having an unrecorded deed sitting around for up to two decades could be very problematic. The title hasn’t changed until the deed has been recorded. This is an uncompleted gift for gift tax purposes. In the years between the signing of the deed and the recording of the deed, the grantor officially still owned it.
This means that they can convey title to someone else or mortgage that property and therefore, it could be leined by the grantor’s creditors. You might discover when it’s too late that you aren’t able to get clear title to the property. To avoid these problems and to discuss other estate planning options with regard to a home, schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning lawyer.
