Many people purchase a home through a Land Contract from their parents. But the sale of a home to one child via land contract should also include some good estate planning via a Will or Trust — especially if there are other siblings involved.
Most land contracts allow the parents to retain title to the property until such time as the purchase price in the contract has been paid by the buyer/child.
Depending upon how the terms of the land contract are drafted, if your parents die, you would/should still have the right to make payments on the home to continue the terms of the land contract.
But these payments would then be made to the estate of your parents — and thus a Will for that estate would establish distribution of those assets.
As such, it is best that parents who wish to enter into a Land Contract for a property also clearly spell out what should happen to that property when they die, either in a Will or Living Trust.
Details on creating legal forms for Wills, Trusts and Land Contracts can be found at Standard Legal’s software main page.