Tag Archives: REAL ESTATE

Neighbor’s French-drain causing run-off onto my land

Q: We have property issues with a French-drain system. My neighbor is running his French-drain run off in to my yard, was not to bad unit this past year they did some work on his house and put a sump pump in and now there is a good bit of water that comes out and helps in flooding a lower section of my yard. Is this legal? The property is in Allegheny county, PA?

A: As a first step, express your concerns to your neighbor and see if he will be a good neighbor and voluntarily remedy the situation. Secondly, you may want to contact your local zoning ordinance person. You need to confirm if there is a local ordinance which prevents this. Thirdly, if you get nowhere with the neighbor or municipality, contact a lawyer. you may have a civil suit as I am fairly sure that landowner cannot create a situation which causes water to run onto landowner property. The last I checked there was common law on this subject. The lawyer may be able to settle it with a letter or put pressure on the local ordinance enforcement person to take action.

Verbal agreements and contracts in land

Q: My uncle owns 10 acres of property in PA. 17 years ago I was looking for property to build a cottage on. We started talking, and he said “you might as well build it here because I’m leaving you this land in my Will anyway.” We agreed to be “partners”; no written agreement exists, and the property remains titled in his name. I performed all the engineering, design, and construction (I am a Master carpenter). He functioned as a laborer. I kept detailed records of all construction materials, and he invested $45k, while I invested $32k. We continue to remain amicable and are not experiencing any conflict regarding ownership. I am just curious – from these limited details, does this “verbal” agreement, my monetary interest and labor, afford me any implied ownership (does a contract exist) in the property should a conflict ever develop between us? Someone mentioned a Statute of Frauds issue? (North Huntington, PA)

A:  I am not sure this is a potential Statue of Frauds problem as it is not a sale of real estate. If a problem occurred between you and he, your position would be much stronger if you had an interest in the real estate. If all work halted due to a disagreement, you would need to sue for your time and materials invested in his property based on his promise. The lawsuit could take years and could be expensive. The problem with him leaving the property to you in his will is that he could change his will at any time. Or, his will may be lost or destroyed at the time that he dies. Or, he needs to apply for Medicaid some day and the property, if in his name, would be included as a Medicaid assets and need to be sold. Perhaps you should discuss your concerns with him. Perhaps transferring title from him to you and he as joint tenants with rights of survivor and sharing real estate taxes would work. If he is open to discussion, consult with a lawyer who has real estate and estate experience.

How can a lawyer file a quiet lawsuit against me over a property I sold that belonged to me?

Q: A family member gifted their home to me. We went through the whole process legally…the house was appraised; contracts were signed and a new grant deed for myself was recorded at the county recording office. Since then I have sold this home (was cash owned) and purchased a new home. The family member is now angry at me for a personal reason and is saying she wants the house back…which means the new house I bought. I received a letter from her attorney stating that she should have been on the title to the new home because I sold her home. The attorney is also saying that I am responsible for elder financial abuse because the home that was sold was hers. This sounds ridiculous! I sold the home when it belonged to me. That is my legal right. Grant deed recorded and papers signed over. She was in no part of the selling process for purchase of the new home. The attorney is threatening to file a quiet title, financial elder abuse and duress lawsuit. How is that possible? After my grandmother gifted the home to me and I received the grant deed she gave up all rights to the home I’m assuming. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: There is no easy answer for this without you sitting down with an attorney and going over all the facts and reviewing all the documents. This attorney may be alleging things that he cannot prove. I hope the prior deed to you from grandmother was done by an attorney, as the attorney would have made sure the law was complied with and this was a gift/transfer for no consideration and grandmother was of sound mind as evidenced by her notarized and witnessed signature. So, if all those measures that you stated were done, it sounds like you have protection. Again, gather all your documents and sit down with an attorney, preferably the one who handled the original transfer from grandmother to you.

Am I entitled to my deceased mom’s share of my deceased grandma’s estate?

Q: My grandma died 8 years ago and named my aunt the executor of her estate. My grandma’s house remains unsold. My mom died 6 months ago and I am her only child. When the house is sold, am I entitled to my mom’s share of the proceeds from the house sale? Or does it go to the only remaining surviving children? I don’t know if there is a will.

A: It depends. If your mother was an heir of her mother by intestate succession or an heir in her mother’s will, then, if you were an intestate heir or an heir named in your mother’s will, you may inherit the house or a portion of it. However, I nor any other attorney can answer this properly without knowing all of the facts. I suggest you consult with an attorney and do it now. If this house is just sitting there and no one has paid inheritance tax on it, there could be problems.

 

Is there a difference in between “joint tenants with right of survivorship ” and “joint tenants.”

Q: Is there a difference in Pennsylvania between “joint tenants” and “joint tenants with right of survivorship”? I am trying to determine how my mother’s property is titled and I keep seeing of these terms for the same property.

A: I do believe that the correct legal terminology is “joint tenants with right of survivorship.” However, I see the wording “joint tenants” used commonly to mean the same thing as an abbreviated version. I am unaware of any different legal meaning. For a more specific answer, I can offer the following. In PA there are three general types of common (joint) ownership of real estate. First, there is tenants-in-common, which is like a plain general partnership and the heirs of any given member of the tenancy, would inherit the other person’s share upon their death. Second, there is tenants-by-the-entireties, how property of spouses is held, where each spouse owns an undivided half of the real property acquired by the spouses and, upon the death of one spouse, the other spouse owns 100% of the property by operation of law. The last, joint-tenants with the right of survivorship, is similar to tenants by the entireties in that the surviving tenant gets the share of a deceased tenant. However, unlike entireties property, unmarried joint tenant’s shares are not protected from their individual creditors. 

 

Spouse is ill. Lots of questions.

Q: My spouse has high med bills and has illness which will continue to worsen. He has no long term coverage. How do I avoid going broke paying his medical bills? How do you qualify for Medicaid? What is amount which you can gift to children? The house is going to me via will but I am not on deed or title, only on the mortgage. Would quit claim deed be solution? (Jefferson Hills, PA)

A: There is no quick and easy solution to this and you can create worse problem by starting to give things away. There is no simple answer here. Please do not worsen the problem by transferring assets on your own without the assistance of an elder law attorney. If the ill person is not yet 62 years of age, he or she will not qualify for Medicare but will qualify for insurance regardless of pre existing conditions due to the affordable care act. Check out www.Healthcare.gov. If the ill person is 62 or older he or she can apply for Medicare and should do so with the assistance of an elder law attorney to determine the best way to preserve the person’s assets without doing anything that would jeopardize their Medicaid eligibility, when they do apply for Medicaid in the future. Generally, to qualify for Medicaid a person must have almost no money or assets. Not sure what is going on with your house, specifically why it is not titled to husband and wife. With Medicaid, if the husband and wife are both on the deed, the house may qualify under the homestead exclusion and would be protected. You need to discuss whether transferring this house now is a good idea and all matters with an experienced estate or elder law attorney.

Is a bill of sale legal for piece of land and how do I get the deed?

Q: The owner sold me part of his land and now he said he can’t split.

A: No one can answer that question on the limited information you have given. I would need to know much, much more. A real estate attorney should review the sales agreement, the deed, the map and so forth. It may be that the seller had good intentions but now he realized he needs to subdivide his lot to sell you a portion. The subdivision of property requires much work and usually involves getting zoning approval from the municipality. It concerns me that you think you were sold a piece of land but do not mention that your name is on the deed. It sounds like neither of you has an attorney and you need the advice.

Is neighbor responsible for sliding hillside?

Q: Who’s responsible for property damage when a hillside is collapsing? The neighbors behind us moved in two years ago and when they did I asked them to please remove the giant slabs of concrete that were sitting on top of the hill on the edge of the property. Our yard sits probably 10 feet below theirs. Well the slabs have slid down the hill side as I knew they would, collapsing the hillside into my wooden privacy fence causing damage. Who is legally responsible to stabilize the hill and fixing my fence, us or them?

A:  I would have to research the duty of a landowner to prevent a condition on his property that damages neighboring property to give you a proper answer. The last time I looked at this was in 2008 and I did find case law on this issue. My recollection is that such a duty does exist, if certain conditions are met. If you engage a lawyer, it will cost you. Your first step should be to contact the city or borough code enforcement officer and see if he or she can help. This might be a code violation of some sort and perhaps the neighbor could be cited, which would or should case him to remedy the condition.

Should I liquidate her assets?

Q: I have a 96 year old Grandmother. I am last living relative. Recently removed from her home where she was living alone in bad conditions, 600 miles away from me. I now have established temp guardian and custodianship, permanent in 3 weeks, and getting her in nursing home. Her house is in a bad neighborhood and now that people know it is vacant, it will be robbed and badly vandalized by the time the court date arrives. House is in bad condition inside and city is about to condemn but I had 2 people come out and prepare cash offers. The house is full of my grandfather’s expensive tools, etc. I hate to see that all go to thieves or be taken by the city. Should I try to sell everything and give her the money? I don’t live here and paying $100 hotel every night, don’t have much time

A:  I have had many clients facing this situation. If you feel you will need to apply for Medicaid funding for her in the near future you want to be careful with how you liquidated her assets. While it is true that the transfer of assets without fair consideration in the five years prior to Medicaid eligibility can lead to a penalty, the operative wording is “fair” consideration (fair price). My suggestion is to follow the advice of an attorney versed on PA’s administration of the Medicaid program. Generally, you can liquidate personal and real property as long as you do it for a fair price and keep accurate records-and keep her money for her, and not gift it to others. If you sell the house, get a few offers in writing, take photos and place the proceeds in grandmother’s account, for her use. Document the deposit. If you can get someone to appraise it before selling, do it. If you apply for Medicaid some day you may need to demonstrate to them that the sales price was fair. You can deduct the expenses from her account, but keep records and receipts. No one expects you to pay for all of this out of your own pocket. Reimburse yourself from grandmother’s account, but again, document everything including your hotel room, gasoline, movers, locksmiths, etc. As far as right now, you should remove the valuables from the house and secure the house by whatever means necessary-light timer, an alarm system, or even boarding it if you have to. In the meantime, gather the bids, and sell it. As long as you can feel confident you sold it for as much as you could get, given the bad area and condition of the house, Medicaid will probably understand, as long as you can document it. Again, find a local lawyer to advise on this before you start for some guidance. An attorney can advise you on any available financial tools to shelter some of her assets from Medicaid consideration.

 

Can I keep my parent’s house when they die?

Q: How do I keep my parent’s house if they die? My mother died over three years ago, and tonight I received word from the hospital that my father is not doing well. I know that the house currently has a mortgage on it, and that there is a little over nineteen thousand dollars left on the house. Unfortunately my father doesn’t have life insurance on himself, and the bank removed the GAP insurance he had through them. They did it after he said something about his health issues. I know that my parents would want me to keep the house, and I would like to know what I should do in order to keep it. Should I continue to make payments on the mortgage? If I do does it mean that I’m agreeing to paying all of their bills? I’m also asking because right now the house is my place of residence. I moved in to help with my father, and go to college, and now… To be perfectly honest I’m scared. Some help and information would be wonderful. Thank you.

A: You really need to talk to a lawyer. Ask around, some lawyer will talk to you for no fee or a modest consultation fee if you don’t have money. There are some issues here. If either of your parents received Medicaid, the house could be subject to a claim. However, there is an exception to their claim called “undue hardship” if you were living in the home as their caretaker for 2 years prior to their hospitalization. Don’t make statements to the hospital about your living arrangement until you talk to the attorney. Also, when your last parent dies, you personally do not inherit their debt. Their estate is responsible for their debt. You can keep paying the mortgage but do not sign any document from the bank in which you assume the mortgage. If you are the only heir of the parent, you can probably keep this house by if you can afford it. It will likely require opening an estate and paying inheritance tax. Again, explain all of the details to a probate or elder law attorney.