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No one has any kind of power of attorney. It has been driving us all crazy for years. She has no kind if will, no end-of-life provision have been made, no long-term care insurance... she has her pension, medicare and that's it. And she's 80 something years old. She's been highly resistant to any kind of legal changes being made, she doesn't tell anyone waht she's doing in terms of loans or whatnot no matter how much we ask, she hasn't really kept up on home repairs (every once in a while she asks for money to make some mysterious payments that always have to do with home repair, but there are LOTS of things in the house still not done). Finally she had a really big home issue that required an insurance claim to be filed, and she let my sister step in to handle things. Suddenly now she seems cooperative to FINALLY get this stuff done - to the degree it is even possible at this point. So my sister is scrambling to work fast while we can still get her in front of a notary to sign things, before she goes dark on us again.
We are all at our wits end frankly. But what are you gonna do? She's our mother and its our problem to deal with. That's life.
Tina: the correct title of the form is QUITCLAIM deed. Please do not attempt to do any title searching or filling out forms on your own.
You absolutely need a real estate attorney (not a real estate agent) to advise you and your siblings on how this should be handled, and exactly what form(s) for transfer of title are required. Your mother has to be willing and competent in order to sign anything as well. The fee should be reasonable.
You absolutely need a real estate attorney (not a real estate agent) to advise you and your siblings on how this should be handled, and exactly what form(s) for transfer of title are required. Your mother has to be willing and competent in order to sign anything as well. The fee should be reasonable.
Yes, that is the plan going forward now that you guys have told me so. Thanks for the advice.
We can't even prove her competent or not, since she won't tell anyone what's going on with her health either. She seems fine, but who the hell knows.
If anyone older out there is reading this, please heed this lesson. Don't do this to your family. Take care of things on your own while you can if you are so inclined and let everyone know what you did. Either that or let them help you. Otherwise you just stress everyone out.
Daughter wants to add her name so the house can't be claimed by Medicaid or the government in the event of something bad happening.
I believe the look back period is 5 years now. And they will look! If they find it, no matter whose name it is in, they will take it back or go after those involved. The days of hiding your assets from government so you can obtain state aid is over.
Please do not attempt to do any title searching or filling out forms on your own.
Well, anyone can easily search the title records to see if anything pops out--such as a recorded mortgage that hasn't been discharged. But I should have included in my post that you'll want your attorney to confirm anything that you find (and they'll want to do a thorough review anyway).
Not sure which state you are in, but in AZ we can file something called a Beneficiary Deed. Ownership is maintained by current owner until death and then automatically passes to beneficiary without probate.
I am not sure how this impacts any mortgage or debt owed. Since beneficiary is not on mortgage, the estate (executor or representative) will have to deal with the debt.
I would definitely speak with an attorney, a few hundred bucks may be well worth the expense to save a lot of grief afterwords (no pun intended).
Tina-- there's been lots of excellent advice given to you. Something like this falls into the realm of estate planning and there are various tax implications to just adding someone to a deed. There could also be issues with any financing secured by the property because, technically, adding someone to the deed denotes a sale and could trigger any due on sale clause.
This is definitely a situation where you need a good attorney, but it's a fairly common situation for them to deal with. Look for an elder law attorney if you want a specialist.
I would advise finding an estate planning attorney. This attorney will also have knowledge about real estate ownership, trusts, how to own property (within the trust, deeding to trust on death, owned by all family in a joint tenancy, tenancy in common, etc.), and with powers of attorney. If your mother is competent, having her sign over a limited poa to one or more children might be the first thing to do - and how to limit the powers, what powers to grant, duration, whether a springing or durable general poa, and a health care proxy (specialized poa) are all issues to be considered in consultation with an attorney.
Not sure which state you are in, but in AZ we can file something called a Beneficiary Deed. Ownership is maintained by current owner until death and then automatically passes to beneficiary without probate.
This sounds like a LIFE ESTATE, wherein someone deeds a property to someone else but reserves a life estate in the property. The grantee actually owns the property but doesnt take physical possession until the grantor dies. When that happens, the property passes automatically and immediately to the grantee.
However, as someone else has noted, it's illegal to transfer assets from the estate of a Medicaid recipient or someone who's planning on applying for Medicaid assistance.
The days of hiding your assets from government so you can obtain state aid is over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texasfirewheel
However, as someone else has noted, it's illegal to transfer assets from the estate of a Medicaid recipient or someone who's planning on applying for Medicaid assistance.
Whoa. She's not sick (that we know of) and there are no plans to apply for medicaid. Nobody is trying to defraud the government, we were just trying to do the things people usually do to protect their parent's assets. We actually told her to do it years ago IN CASE she ended up in long term care or something, that and get some kind of insurance that would cover those costs if needed. She did not listen. We figured it is probably too late now but initially my sister thought she should do it anyway, just in case.
Anywhoo...
You will all be pleased to know that I spoke to my siblings and informed them of this conversation. They had been doing their own investigations today and heard similar things, so we all agreed it was better just to go to a lawyer, draw up some kind of simple power of attorney and take it from there. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the advice. It really helped all of us get a solid understanding of the scope of the situation in a short time. I'm very grateful to everyone here.
Whoa. She's not sick (that we know of) and there are no plans to apply for medicaid. Nobody is trying to defraud the government, we were just trying to do the things people usually do to protect their parent's assets. We actually told her to do it years ago IN CASE she ended up in long term care or something, that and get some kind of insurance that would cover those costs if needed. She did not listen. We figured it is probably too late now but initially my sister thought she should do it anyway, just in case.
Anywhoo...
You will all be pleased to know that I spoke to my siblings and informed them of this conversation. They had been doing their own investigations today and heard similar things, so we all agreed it was better just to go to a lawyer, draw up some kind of simple power of attorney and take it from there. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the advice. It really helped all of us get a solid understanding of the scope of the situation in a short time. I'm very grateful to everyone here.
Great decision to get legal counsel. You and siblings are likely headed there sooner or later anyway, and sooner is usually easier.
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I'm very grateful to everyone here.
