Generally yes. A life estate must be released by the written consent of the holder. However, life estates are governed by state laws and they vary from state to state. If the life tenant is causing waste or causing damage to the property you should discuss the situation with an attorney.
No....If the home was in a irrevocable or trust life estate and that person died or in the case of the irrevocable trust there still alive and your the benaficairy the trustee can keep you out, but eventually depending on what the terms of the estate are turn the trust or estate over to you. Seek the advice of a probate attorney.
No to avoid estate tax penalty
Some commonly used policies in estate planning to fund irrevocable trusts include life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and gifting strategies. These assets can be transferred into the irrevocable trust to provide financial security for beneficiaries and potentially reduce estate taxes.
The grantors of an irrevocable trust can take out life insurance on themselves and put it (term or whole life insurance) in the trust in order to pay the estate taxes on their estate assets when they die. This allows the grantor (giver of assets) to leave his estate assets to his children or someone else (beneficiaries) without them having to pay estate tax, or death tax as some call it.
An irrevocable trust and an estate are two separate and distinct legal arrangements. If a person transfers their property to an irrevocable trust it is no longer part of their estate. You need to consult with an attorney who can review your situation, hear the details and explain your options.
Any property owned by the decedent in his individual capacity would be included in his estate. Any property that was transferred to a trust during life would not be included in the estate.
Provisions of a living trust remain valid as long as you stay alive, but the benefactors of your estate are not bound by these provisions once you have died. An irrevocable trust binds the benefactors of your estate to the trust's provisions.
In reality, if there is no written proof of the debt, the estate cannot collect.
no, only by the grantor or in case of the grantee's death
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Real-Estate-Home-1842/Refinancing-Trust.htm
Yes.
Generally, an irrevocable living trust is created in order to transfer assets from a parent's estate to the trust in order to avoid inheritance taxes on the parent's estate, protect assets from creditors, make charitable contributions and other purposes. The key thing about the irrevocable trust is that the trustor (the trust maker) can not later change the terms of the trust once the documents have been signed.