Transferring Inherited Real Estate Property Among Family Members After the Estate Settles
Family togetherness is something to celebrate. Stories in which people form familial bonds or in which family members get to stay together after being separated or after overcoming a risk of separation consistently register as relatable to audiences, even as today’s audiences have become cynical about romantic love and about ever finding financial stability. In a world where it feels like arguing about money takes up all your time, as vendors and creditors always demand more, even as your employer pays you less, the fact that you do not have to keep track of every penny with your family is a relief. Your parents don’t keep track of how many nights you have slept in their house since moving back in and how many hours you spent connected to their Wi-Fi as you filled out job applications, watched Netflix, and played video games to keep yourself from doomscrolling. When one family member comes home with a grocery haul, the food is for everyone, the relatives who live in the house and the ones who just happened to stop by. It is tempting to treat inherited property this way, but it is a mistake, especially with real estate property. If you inherited a real estate property, and your plans for it differ from what the testator had in mind, contact a Bronx probate attorney.
Make Things Official Sooner Rather Than Later
A recent article on the Moneywise website tells of a scenario where family members informally transferring real estate property makes things complicated. The letter writer had bought a house from her mother, who had inherited the house from her own mother, the letter writer’s grandmother. While the grandmother was alive, the whole family had agreed that the granddaughter would eventually live in the house with her husband and children, but the grandmother never got the chance to update her will to reflect this while she was alive and healthy enough to issue a new will.
The granddaughter paid her mother $200,000 before moving into the house, but they never registered the deed to reflect the change in ownership. The columnist advised them to hire a real estate lawyer; she added that, if they had asked before the grandmother’s estate settled, they should also hire a probate attorney. Before the granddaughter can legally own the house, which would entitle her to borrow against its home equity and even to sell it, she would need to register the title to the house in her own name. The mother should also issue a quitclaim deed, declaring that she no longer has an ownership interest in the house. It is also necessary to go through these same steps even if family members transfer a real estate property without any money changing hands.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
A probate lawyer can help you transfer an inherited real estate property to a family member. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/other/i-paid-my-mom-200k-to-buy-my-late-grandma-s-home-from-her-but-then-realized-it-left-us-with-no-proof-it-s-actually-mine-how-do-we-make-it-legit/ar-AA1OAJvd?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6a9d6a337e914162b7846b071dea416a&ei=31