Adding children's names to a property

[Chedva]

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@cmbmom

There is a time when it can be beneficial change a deed and that is when only one parent is living. I do not remember the type of deed but basically the original owner is free to do whatever they want with the property but on death it automatically becomes the property of the 2nd person. We did this on the advice of an attorney who specializes in elder law and many of our friends have done the same when they lose one parent.

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<p>This sounds like a life estate with the remainder to the kids. That means that you would retain the right to exclusive use of the property during your lifetime and, depending on how the documents were written, could do anything except sell it or unduly encumber (take too many loans out against) it.</p>

<p>The biggest issue I foresee with doing either a life estate or adding the children to the deed is this - what if something happens and you need the money that a sale of the property would bring? None of us ever expected to live through economic times like these, and yet here we are. Suppose there’s an injury or illness, or even better, no injury or illness but you outlive your retirement income and you want to sell the house. Right now, you can’t conceive of your kids saying “No”, but in 20 or 30 years, who knows? </p>

<p>Or suppose one of your kids falls on hard times and sues to force a sale of the property against the wishes of the others?</p>

<p>These are possibilities that have torn families apart if the occur, and they occur more often than you might imagine. </p>

<p>Your attorney should definitely be involved to deal with these matters beforehand.</p>