My mother-in-law is in a bit of trouble and may have a lean on her house put into effect. She wants me to buy it from her before this happens... what kinds of issues should I be worried about?

If you buy any property and the date of the sale there is no lien on that property, than you are clear of any involvement about alleged lien.

A title serach would be the proper course of action in this case, to see if that alleged lien is there.

In some jurisdictions, there are laws allowing creditors to attach liens or writs to transferred property if the creditor can convince a court that the transfer was done with the intent to frustrate creditors.


In Ontario, where we are based, the statute that deals with this is called the Fraudulent Conveyances Act.

While I agree with Mr Yet, I would be concerned about what Justice mentioned. I was about to mention something similar. If you buy the house and she continues to live in it, a court is likely to deem it a fraudulent transfer. Now, not only is she in trouble, but you are too.

If she is getting a judgmeent against her in small claims court, being able to put a lien on her home is not too likely. Even if it happens, it only means the lien has to be satisifed when the house is sold.

And you actually have to buy it, pay her what it is really worth, if you don't have that much money you will have to get a mortgage and pay her the money.