Tag Archives: DEED

How do I add my sons name to my deed?

Q: I am getting older and want to add my son to the deed. How do I do it? (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: It is easy to do. You just hire an attorney to prepare a new deed with your son’s name on it. You can put him on the new deed with you or you can leave him on the deed alone. All you would pay is an attorney fee to prepare the deed and the filing fee. However, a word of caution before you do this. Please consult with an attorney with whom you can share all the facts before doing this. This may or may not be advisable for you and an attorney can only make the determination if he has information on your other financial assets, your health, your health insurance, your potential of needing Medicaid, your income and the stability of your son.

How do I go about getting a co-owner’s name off our house?

Q: I bought a house with a friend back in 2004. We have since parted ways and the house is paid off. She left over 2 1/2 years ago and moved to another state and left me with all the taxes and upkeep of the house. I want to get her name off the house but do not know how to do that. We have no contact with each other. She has changed her phone number and I have no idea where she is living other than in Florida. I have been putting a lot of money into keeping the house and paying off the back taxes so would really like to just have my house in just my name. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: No matter how you are on the deed-as joint tenants or tenants in common-you are stuck unless you can get her to sign a new deed transferring ownership out of her name. I would try to locate her even if you need to hire a private investigator and see how much she wants. Perhaps she needs money and you can buy her out at a reasonable price. If she is unwilling, you can hire an attorney to commence a real estate partition action, which is expensive. However, if you start one, she may not have the money or want to spend the money to defend, and be more inclined to settle.

What is the best way to transfer land back to my name?

Q: The land and was in my name. I transferred it to my mother’s name for tax purposes. She passed away with land still in her name. What is the best method of transferring in back into my name? I am trying to avoid attorney fees as well. (Jefferson Hills, PA)

A: If she was the only name on the deed, you likely will need to open an estate, pay inheritance tax and transfer the property out of the estate back to you. Hopefully there are no other issues such as Medicaid and debts.

Can they remove my son’s name from grandmother’s deed?

Q: My grandmother made a deed to her property 3 years ago. She has lifetime stay. At her death her adult son has lifetime stay. At his death it goes to my 15-year-old son. My grandmother now has dementia in a nursing home. My uncle says he’s going to the court system to take my son’s name off so my uncle can be sole owner of property. He says he needs to do this to keep Medicaid from taking her assets for payment of her care in nursing home. Can he go to a judge and have this deed redone in his name only, taking my minor sons name off the deed with my signature as guardian?

A: I think is possible, assuming your uncle is acting in your grandmother’s best interest in dealing with Medicaid matters and not to benefit himself. However, much more information is needed. Assuming Medicaid is in the picture here, this transfer was done within the 5-year Medicaid look-back period. That could potentially penalize your grandmother to the extent of the fair market value of the house which was transferred. Additionally, there are two consecutive life-estates, from what you describe, one to grandmother then one to herself. In many states, a life estate has a monetary value. Of course, the uncle would need to possess some authority over your grandmother to do anything on her behalf, such as a Power of Attorney or her Guardian.

Is a party’s signature needed to remove her from a deed?

Q: My 93-year-old mom was coerced in Feb 2017 by my sister to sign a quit claim deed adding her to her home. Although done in a lawyer’s office, he nor a notary witnesses the signatures. No money or consideration made either. (Bethel Park, PA)

A: If your mother was competent to sign the deed, and the deed is legally correct, the transfer is valid. If the deed is valid and your sister is on the deed as a grantee, she must sign any new deed. The exception to this is if you can get her off the deed by court order as a result of successfully challenging the deed which is difficult to do. In PA deeds must be witnessed and notarized to be accepted for recording.

How can I pass an interest in my house to my children if my wife is on deed with me?

Q: I recently refinanced my home and deeded it as tenants in the entirety with my second wife. I have two adult children. I would like to have my children have interest in the property if I die before my wife. What is the best way to do this as she has no immediate family and I do not want the property to go to the state upon her death. (Valencia, PA)

A: Consult with a lawyer with whom you can share all the facts. If the house is now titled by the entireties, as husband and wife, the entireties tenancy can only be severed if the wife agrees to sign another deed, one of you dies or by court order. As tenancy by the entireties, your wife will inherit it from you when you die, and it will not pass to your estate. Therefore, you cannot pass it to your children in your will. The only way to pass an interest to your children is to draft another deed. I cannot advise which type of deed will be best for your situation, but the options would be to execute a new deed with or without your wife on it. Your children could have a tenant-in-common interest with you or you and your wife, or joint interest with you and your wife. You could also do a deed to your children with a life estate in the property granted to your wife. If she has a life estate, she can live in the property until she vacates the property or dies, then her life estate is extinguished, and your children’s interest becomes free and clear. You really need to consult with a lawyer who can advise after understanding all the facts. Additionally, you should seek approval from your mortgagee whenever you change the deed if there is a mortgage or HELOC in place.

Can my mother and I sell her home and dissolve the life estate?

My mother is 89 years old and developed mild dementia and heart disease. The doctor does not want her to live by herself, so she has moved in with me. We set the life estate up about 5 years ago after a lawyer assured us it was the right thing to do. I am the only surviving child and do not plan to put mom in a nursing home and will use hospice if needed in the future. I do not want to rent the property because it is about 100 miles from me and would be more trouble than it is worth. Can I sell the property since I am providing my mother with a place to live and am also her caregiver? (Baldwin Borough, PA)

A: I would need to know is the life estate in the deed or a trust and look at the documents. If in a deed, does the life estate terminate upon conditions of her death or her being unable to live in the home independently? If in a trust, the trust will have similar conditions which constitute the ending of the life estate. Who does ownership pass to when the life estate conditions have been fulfilled? If one of the conditions of the life estate terminating is her being unable to live in the home independently, then that condition has been fulfilled and you should be okay. However, you should review the paperwork with attorney for a more definitive answer.

Can my mother and I sell her home and dissolve the life estate?

Q: My mother is 89 years old and developed mild dementia and heart disease. The doctor does not want her to live by herself, so she has moved in with me. We set the life estate up about 5 years ago after a lawyer assured us it was the right thing to do. I am the only surviving child and do not plan to put mom in a nursing home and will use hospice if needed in the future. I do not want to rent the property because it is about 100 miles from me and would be more trouble than it is worth. Can I sell the property since I am providing my mother with a place to live and am also her caregiver? (Baldwin Borough, PA)

A: I would need to know is the life estate in the deed or a trust and look at the documents. If in a deed, does the life estate terminate upon conditions of her death or her being unable to live in the home independently? If in a trust, the trust will have similar conditions which constitute the ending of the life estate. Who does ownership pass to when the life estate conditions have been fulfilled? If one of the conditions of the life estate terminating is her being unable to live in the home independently, then that condition has been fulfilled and you should be okay. However, you should review the paperwork with attorney for a more definitive answer.

What will happen?

Q: My Father is in his late 50s and not in the best health. He inherited my grandmother’s property some years ago. His girlfriend somehow signed her name onto the deed of the house during the transaction. My Father says he was unaware of. I’d hate to see this property go to this girlfriend if something were to happen to him. I asked him about a will and he said that’s not something a son should ask their parents. So, if my dad passes away, does the property and everything on the property go to the girlfriend because she’s on the Deed of the house? (Murrysville, PA)

A: I don’t know. I suggest having an attorney look at the deed. It should be on file in the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds. If her name is on the deed as an owner, she has some interest in the property. If she is a tenant-in-common, she will own a divisible one-half interest with your father’s estate when he passes. If she is a joint tenant, with survivor rights, she will own the entire property when he dies. If there is no mortgage or liens, she will own it free and clear. As far as trying to rescind the deed with the argument that she somehow got her signature on the deed without his knowledge, that usually is an uphill battle. However, an attorney examining the deed can determine if it was legally executed, discuss your father’s competency at the time and perhaps shed some light on the situation for you.

Can I be evicted from heir’s property if I am an heir and have paid the taxes for 14 years?

Q: My 83 and 91-year-old aunts are trying to sell the land. Neither one has ever paid taxes on this property nor have they lived here since the 50’s. I inherited the mobile home on the property after caring for my 76-year-old dad who died in 07 I moved to care for him after my mother died in 04 when I became an heir. I am 66 years old, never delinquent on taxes for property or my inherited mortgage for this land. I paid taxes, my mother paid them before, my grandmother paid them since the ’50’s. I am a veteran and a retired CPS worker and suffer from PTSD and anxiety. Can my aunts evict me just because they are older heirs? On my retirement income I can’t afford to move, and my mobile home is bricked in. Thank you for any advice that you can give me. (Lucerne Mines, PA)

A: There is not enough information for me to answer this. I suggest you gather the deeds, wills and any other documents you can and see a lawyer. It will likely come down to who at this time owns the property. If your aunts are the only heirs, they own it and I don’t understand why you had been paying property tax on it. If you are an heir along with your aunts, you have options. In that case, the three of you will need to reach an agreement. If they want their money, you may be forced to buy them out. If they don’t want their money out of the land, perhaps they will agree to execute a new deed which has your share pass to their heirs after their death and give you a life estate to live on the property. If they are agreeable to letting you live there, and do not want money, you have some options.