Don’t add a child or step-child to the deed to your home without the full understanding that you can’t just take it back whenever you want

Dear Len & Rosie,

After my second wife passed away, I put my step-daughter’s name on the title to our house as joint tenants. I tried to sell the house last year but she would not sign the papers because she said she wanted the whole house. I went to a lawyer, and he didn’t do anything. I went to another lawyer, and still nothing. I have already spent $7,000 on lawyers and I have made no progress.

All I want to do is sell the house and give her one-half of the money I get, but she won’t listen. My step-daughter wants to buy the house from me for only $40,000. If she gets it, she’ll sell the house for a lot more money. I pay all the upkeep on the house, including taxes, insurance, and everything else. She never paid a cent. 

I am 77 years old and she is waiting for my death so she can get everything. She never sees me and has never done anything for me since her mother died, even though she lives only 3 miles away. She is so mad at me because I have a girlfriend who takes good care of me. I want to sell the house, but not to her for what little she wants to pay. I worked too hard for that. Do I have the right to sell the house without her signature?

Domenic

Dear Domenic,

Every once in a while someone asks why we tell people to put their homes into a revocable trust to avoid probate instead of just adding their children to the title of the property. The next time that happens, we will show them your letter. When you gave your step-daughter part of your house, you gave up your exclusive control of it. She is as much an owner of the house as you are, at least according to its title. Because of this, you cannot sell the home without her agreement.

You can sue your step-daughter and ask the court to revoke the joint tenancy deed and return the property to your name. You have a case, as long as she did not pay you for her half of the home, and has never contributed to its maintenance, insurance, and property taxes. Your attorney can argue that you added your step-daughter to the title to the home only to avoid probate and that you didn’t mean for her to own an interest in the property until after your death. This is not an automatic win because you have to overcome the legal presumption that the title to the home is correct. This may be what your attorneys have tried to do for you. Unfortunately, it’s not cheap. This may easily cost you more than $7,000 to see it through.

If you’re willing to settle for half and you want to sell the property now, you can sue your step-daughter in an action for partition. The court will order a neutral party to sell the property and divide the proceeds of the sale between the two of you.

If you do not want to sell the property, you can sign a deed that will sever the joint tenancy and change the title of the property to a tenancy in common. Your step-daughter will still own half, but she won’t get your half when you die. Then, you can leave your half of the home to someone else in a will or revocable trust.

The lesson learned here is this: Don’t add a child or step-child to the deed to your home without the full understanding that you can’t just take it back whenever you want.

Len & Rosie
 

I gave my sister-in-law immediate access to enough money to pay my bills

Dear Len & Rosie,

I hope this is a simple question requiring a simple answer. I have a will requesting what I want done and who gets what after I die.

I also want my sister-in-law to get money to defray my burial expenses. I want to add her name to my checking account as a joint tenant so she will have immediate access to enough money to pay my bills.

I have heard or read somewhere that by adding her name to my checking account I would invalidate my will. Is this correct?

James

Dear James,

If attorneys could give simple answers to simple questions we’d be out of business. Still, we will do my best.

You will not “invalidate” your will by adding your sister-in-law to your checking account as a joint tenant. However, your will controls the disposition of property within your probate estate only. Your will cannot control property outside of your probate estate.

After you die, your probate estate will consist of everything you own on your death that does not automatically pass to another person by a right of survivorship or “pay on death” beneficiary designation. Also, if you have a trust, property held in the trust will not be in your probate estate, because you do not own it; the trustee of the trust does.

If you add your sister-in-law’s name to your checking account as a joint tenant, she will own the account after your death by right of survivorship, regardless of what you say in your will. Remember, joint tenancy accounts do not belong to your probate estate.

She will not be legally obligated to use the money to pay for your burial expenses or anything else for your benefit. The money will be hers, and you can rely only upon her good will that she will do as you wish.

If you trust her, then you can add her name to your account as a joint tenant and hope for the best. Alternatively, you can make arrangements for your death ahead of time by prepaying for your burial in advance.

But even if you do nothing, your burial will still be taken care of. After probate of your estate is opened, your Executor or Administrator will simply pay the mortuary from the assets of your estate before it is distributed to your heirs.

Len & Rosie