Ask Me Help Desk - Adding Boyfriend to deed

The house is under my name. My father gave me $30k down for my home. Both my boyfriend and I agreed that it was best to add him to the deed. I want him to feel it's much his house as it is mine. We went to see an attorney.

The attorney suggested a Real Estate Purchase Contract & QuitClaim Deed.

Now... my heart beats as I don't want to forget any clauses.

This is the Quitclaim Deed:

QUITCLAIM DEED

Date: April ____, 2012
Grantor: Mine
Grantor’s Mailing Address (including county): 123 address
Grantee: His Name
Grantee’s Mailing Address (including county): 123 address

Consideration: $1,500.00 <-- what does this mean? Is it my mortgage payment or should it be the $15k he is suppose to give me? Did attorney forget a zero?

Property (including any improvements): Legal Property Name

Reservations from and Exceptions to Conveyance and Warranty: None.
For the Consideration, Grantor quitclaims to Grantee an undivided one half interested in the right, title and interest in and to the Property, to have and to hold it to Grantee, Grantee’s heirs, executors, administrators, successors or assigns forever. Grantor binds Grantor and Grantor’s heirs, successors and assigns forever. Neither Grantor nor Grantor’s heirs, successors or assigns will have, claim or demand any right or title to the Property or any part of it.
When the context requires, singular nouns and pronouns include the plural.

Please advice:

I see a few issues already.

First, when adding someone to the ownership of your property, the Grantee should be yourself and the new person. There shouldn't be any language about transferring one-half interest. Instead, you, as Grantor, are transferring all of the property to yourself and your boyfriend.

Second, if the consideration is going to be $15,000 then there are probably going to be transfer taxes due that must be paid at the time this deed gets recorded. The county clerk or county register won't even accept the deed for recording without the transfer fee.

Third, if there is a mortgage on the property then you're going to need the consent of the lender before you can make any transfers of the property. Doing this transfer without their consent is a violation of the mortgage. And when you ask the lender for their consent they're going to want the mortgage modified to add your boyfriend.

Fourth, I don't see any formal legal description of the property. Were you planning on only using the mailing address?

Did the attorney prepare this deed for you or did you do this yourself?

Wow... almost forgot this: What do you want to happen to the ownership of the property when one of you passes away? If your boyfriend passes away, do you want his share of the property to become part of his estate and go to his heirs? Or should his share all come to you? And the same thing for you... if you pass away do you want your share to go to him or to become part of your estate and go to your heirs?

If you want the surviving owner to receive full ownership of the property then the Grantees should be you and your boyfriend as Joint Tenants With Right Of Survivorship (JTWROS). And that can happen only if the law in your state permits it. Some states do not permit JTWROS between unmarried people.

If you want the ownership to go to the estate of the person who passes away then the Grantees should be you and your boyfriend as Tenants In Common.

If you prepared this deed yourself then I strongly recommend that you go back to the attorney and have them prepare it. Or you can go to a title company and have them do it. If an attorney prepared this for you then I suggest you go back to them and ask them about the issues I've raised here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caseclosed

... The attorney suggested a Real Estate Purchase Contract & QuitClaim Deed.
...

The QCD should not be executed until your BF complies with the contract. I don't know what the contract says, and, like Lisa, I'm wondering if the attorney actually prepared this for you or only suggested some forms. There are problems, as written.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caseclosed

...
QUITCLAIM DEED

...
Consideration: $1,500.00 <-- what does this mean? Is it my mortgage payment or should it be the $15k he is suppose to give me? Did attorney forget a zero? ...

If you were to sign this, you would get $1,500 upon signing, and should not expect to receive anything more. Ever. And a mortgage would be a separate document, together with another document called a mortgage note.

If the attorney told you this is all you need, I suggest you get yourself an attorney who knows something about real property transactions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caseclosed

...
QUITCLAIM DEED

...... Grantor binds Grantor and Grantor's heirs, successors and assigns forever. Neither Grantor (meaning you) nor Grantor's heirs, successors or assigns will have, claim or demand any right or title to the Property or any part of it.
...

Literally interpreted, this language would seem to give away not only the 1/2 you are selling to him, but the 1/2 you intend to keep. I'm sure this is not what you mean. As Lisa also said, it should be "A to A + B, as tenants in common (Or JTWROS)", not "1/2 from A to B".

Another point to ponder: you are not married. This evidently means that the two of you are not yet ready to commit to a lifetime together. You may not want to think about this now, but there is a very distinct possibility that you could break up at some point. Do you really want to jointly own a house with an ex-boyfriend? Because if you go through with this plan, that is a real possibility, like it or not. And one benefit that marriage brings is the ability to negotiate a pre-nuptual agreement, and a ready procedure for divorce, including equitable division of marital property, That is not necessarily afforded by this arrangement you are thinking about.

Finally, get a competent attorney to do the paperwork for you. And don't be satisfied until you are sure you understand all of that paperwork.

Sorry, I don't see a boyfriend needing to be added to the deed. What if you break up in one year. You can't even try and get home back in divorce court.
You are giving him 1/2 of everything then and there

Why not make out a will giving him the home if you die perhaps. Does you dad that gave you all this money think it is a good idea to give 1/2 of that share of the money to him?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

Sorry, I don't see a boyfriend needing to be added to the deed. what if you break up in one year. You can't even try and get home back in divorce court.
You are giving him 1/2 of everything then and there

Why not make out a will giving him the home if you die perhaps. Does you dad that gave you all this money think it is a good idea to give 1/2 of that share of the money to him?

I agree that, if this is in fact a gift from OP to BF, there is no legitimate need for it and BF appears to be some sort of a gold-digger con artist. But on the other hand, as I read it, she is trying to sell him 1/2 of her equity (a gift from her father) for $15 K. Then, presumably, BF would help her make the mortgage payments.

Another problem, of course, is that, as Lisa said, this would normally require the consent of the mortgage holder. Further proof that the "attorney" she consulted doesn't know his "burro" from a proverbial hole in the ground.

caseclosed, please don't do this. I know of too many, far too many people who have regretted this. I have never young people who didn't regret it. There are countless ways for him to feel at home in YOUR house but keep it your house. In fact I don't care how much in love you are, keep financial records, both of you. He chips in on mortgage, he works around the property. You should have a file of home maintenance, repairs, and improvements anyway.
I bought my first house with a BF and his best friend and it all worked out fine when the friend got married and sold out to us, but another friend did this with a girlfriend and she not only never paid him a dime, she took off. But once she was half owner, she remained half owner. Lenders don't care which one of you pays the bill each month as long as one of you does.

I agree totally with the previous responses, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is your father. Your father gave you $30K. How would your father feel about giving that to your boyfriend? And if your boyfriend does give you $15K are you going to give it to your father?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaB4657

I see a few issues already.

First, when adding someone to the ownership of your property, the Grantee should be yourself and the new person. There shouldn't be any language about transferring one-half interest. Instead, you, as Grantor, are transferring all of the property to yourself and your bf.

Second, if the consideration is going to be $15,000 then there are probably going to be transfer taxes due that must be paid at the time this deed gets recorded. The county clerk or county register won't even accept the deed for recording without the transfer fee.

Third, if there is a mortgage on the property then you're going to need the consent of the lender before you can make any transfers of the property. Doing this transfer without their consent is a violation of the mortgage. And when you ask the lender for their consent they're going to want the mortgage modified to add your bf.

Fourth, I don't see any formal legal description of the property. Were you planning on only using the mailing address?

Did the attorney prepare this deed for you or did you do this yourself?

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, this is a draft copy emailed from an attorney. I removed legal property information for the sake of asking for advice ;) I will edit the document to include my name as the grantor, will modify the $1,500 to $15,000 that my boyfriend will give me when this document is signed.

I have read all the responses.
The QCD is a draft copy from an attorney I selected and we visited together. My boyfriend paid for the fee. My boyfriend and I love one another and do plan to marry. For the same reason we are also protecting one another. I want him to feel it's much his home as it is mine. If he will be giving me minimum 50% of the monthly mortgage, I want him to feel good so at that one day IF things don't end as we plan, then he has rights to what he put into it. I know if things would be on the flip side, I would hate to put 50% percent and in the end, if I got kicked out, I had no rights.

My goal is to protect myself & make it fair for both. How can I make this as fair as possible for both? Please advice.

Below is the Real Estate Purchase Agreement:
REAL ESTATE PURCHASE CONTRACT
Date of Contract: The effective date of this contract shall be the date the final, approved copy is signed by the last party signing same, at which time such date shall be handwritten in the section denominated Final Acceptance Date, below.
Seller: MY NAME.
Seller's Mailing Address (including county): Address, Texas **** County
Purchaser: HIS NAME.
Purchaser's Mailing Address (including county): Address, Texas **** County
Intent to Purchase and Sell: Purchaser agrees to purchase from Seller, and Seller agrees to sell to Purchaser, the below-described property on the terms and conditions set forth herein.
Property Description: An undivided one-half interest in ***Legal Property Name***
Purchase Price: Purchaser shall pay the sum of $15,000.00 on the date of signing this document. Additionally, the Purchaser shall pay an amount equal to one half (1/2) of the monthly mortgage payment including property taxes each month until such time as the property is paid in full or sold. Such payment may be made to Seller or directly to the mortgage holder at Purchaser's discretion.
Seller's Representations and Warranties: Seller represents and warrants to Purchaser the following:
(a) Seller is fully authorized to convey the subject property and has good and indefeasible, fee-simple title thereto.
(b) Seller has no knowledge of any environmental defects on the subject property and within Seller's knowledge there are no buried underground storage tanks.
Property Condition: Purchaser is purchasing the property “AS IS” and understands and agrees that seller makes no representations or warranties of any nature regarding the condition of the property except those expressly set forth immediately above.
Texas Law to Apply: This agreement shall be construed under and in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, and all obligations of the parties created under this contract are performable in Tarrant County, Texas.
Legal Construction: In case any one or more of the provisions contained in the agreement shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision of this contract, and this agreement must be construed as if the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision had never been contained in this contract.
Amendment: No amendment, modification, or alteration of the terms of this contract shall be binding unless the same be in writing, dated subsequent to the date of this contract, and duly executed by the parties to this contract.

Please help in wording the documents that is fairest for both

What does "undivided one half interested" mean?
Some more feedback... and again I'm only trying to do the right thing for both. Currently in a healthy loving relationship. We have been together for 1.9 yrs. We have been planning a child together.

He is Canadian. Does this change anything? Again, I want to protect myself, my son and my boyfriend to the fairest as can be.

First, You haven't dealt with the issue of a mortgage. If there is an existing mortgage on the property, you either have to refinance or get their permission for transfer of ownership.

Second, as long as he is paying for the half interest and will be sharing the expenses, I have less of a problem with this. If he is paying for his share he is entitled to ownership. If you were just adding him to the deed so he would feel comfortable, that's a different story.

Undivided one half interest is basically what it sounds. He will own one half of the property.