[amieverscrd]

Hi,

I've seen similar questions to my own, but not exactly.

I found out two days ago that my father put my sister's name on a quit claim "joint tenancy with right of survivorship" deed almost 15 years ago. I couldn't believe it so when I went home, I went to the courthouse and got a copy. Yup. And it was dated less than a month after my mother passed away, while my father was grieving.

He has told me that everything will be divided equally per his will. However, I believe that my sister (who has worked as a legal assistant for nearly 20 yrs) pulled a fast one. To further complicate things, I am the family scapegoat among my sisters and there is no chance in h--- that my sister will give me a dime, regardless of my father's will. I've been told the deed takes precedence over the will.

My father looked a little stricken when I told him this, but he trusts my sister. She does not (to my knowledge) participate in home repairs, etc. and in fact owns another home free and clear with her husband in another city. She and her husband are well off and can easily afford a legal battle, especially since she works for a law firm.

What if anything can I do? I still love my elderly father & don't want to give him a heart attack by talking about this too much. But I believe my sister caught him when he was grieving and took advantage of him. I'm not even completely sure he believes me when I told him that he has essentially disinherited me. He said that was not his intent and I believe him.

Thanks if you've read this far. To make things worse, I live in another state. Can I or should I do anything? Try to convince my father he's been robbed or just pray for him and accept the fact that he made a mistake because he was so shattered when my mother died? He is in poor health now.

amieverscrd

[amieverscrd]

Hello,

I have seen similar topics but nothing similar enough. I found out 2 days ago that when my mother passed away almost 15 years ago, my father signed a quit claim deed to make one of my sisters a "joint tenant with rights of survivorship".

This particular sister detests me and I think it improbable that she will follow my father's wishes that he said he expressed in his will (that everything will be divided among all of us equally). I think he probably just thought he was avoiding probate but am speculating on that. The sister in question has worked as a legal assistant for about 20 years and the deed is dated LESS than a month after my mother died, so yes I think she is evil. My father was still grieving, as were we all.

When I asked him about this, he got this stricken look on his face and said he didn't want to discuss it. He is a very smart man, but he had just lost my mother at the time and I think my sister took advantage of that. I stll love my father and don't want to give him a heart attack. I am trying to decide if there is anything I can or should do. He is elderly now and I live in another state.

When he told me the day before yesterday that everything would be divided equally, I said that the deed trumps the will and that he has essentially disinherited me. That was when I dropped the conversation because I didn't want to upset him any more.

The sister who is a legal assistant will probably share with my other sisters but is unlikely to do so with me, despite what my father may want. Also, she and her husband are very well off and can afford a protracted legal battle, especially since the firm she works for would probably help her pro bono.

Any advice?

amieverscrd

[amieverscrd]

PS - I hope I didn't accidentally double post. If I did, I apologize. The computer hiccuped after I typed my sad story the first time and the second one is briefer.

amieverscrd

[Fr_Chuck]

You are correct, since she has right of survivial on the property it will not go into the estate, So she gets it, in the will, all of the other money and property will be divided, but not the home, the sister will be free to do what she wants with the home.

All of the children will be needed to be added to the deed, So ask him just to add all of the brothers and sisters as joint owners to the deed.

[amieverscrd]

Fr_Chuck,

Thank you for the suggestion, but the topic is not even open for discussion with him and like I said, I don't want to give him a heart attack. Yes, I know it's morally right to start praying that my sister predeceases him, although I am tempted. The other sisters will be OK because they kiss up to the greedy one. Did I mention she has a lot of money?

I just wondered if it was possible to challenge it based on his state of mind at the time (just look at the date on my mother's death certificate & the date on the deed). Or have any courts anywhere looked at conflicts between wills and deeds and tried to figure out the person's real wishes?

Or am I flat out of luck? If so, then I guess I no longer have a family. I really do not think my father did this on purpose and don't understand why laws like this are allowed to exist. Welcome to the real world for me, I guess.

amieverscrd

[froggy7]

Your father has had 15 years to undo the damage if he wanted to, so I don't think that you can challenge it based on his state of mind at the time. I'm inclined to think that there is more to this story than what you are saying, or possibly than what you know.

[JudyKayTee]

Fr_Chuck,

Thank you for the suggestion, but the topic is not even open for discussion with him and like I said, I don't want to give him a heart attack. Yes, I know it's morally right to start praying that my sister predeceases him, although I am tempted. The other sisters will be OK because they kiss up to the greedy one. Did I mention she has a lot of money?

I just wondered if it was possible to challenge it based on his state of mind at the time (just look at the date on my mother's death certificate & the date on the deed). Or have any courts anywhere looked at conflicts between wills and deeds and tried to figure out the person's real wishes?

Or am I flat out of luck? If so, then I guess I no longer have a family. I really do not think my father did this on purpose and don't understand why laws like this are allowed to exist. Welcome to the real world for me, I guess.

amieverscrd

A more basic legal problem is that legally your father OWES you (or any other children) nothing. What he wants to give is his to decide. No one is legally ENTITLED except a spouse and that varies by State. If he wants to leave his estate to your sister or, for that matter, his dog - it's his to give. The Will and the Deed are both his wishes; there is no conflict there. They are both legal documents and it's not the least bit unusual for someone to deed property outside the Will.

As others have said, maybe you can argue his state of mind following your mother's death but I don't see a viable legal argument for his state of mind in not changing the Deed in the ensuing 15 years. Most "undue influence" arguments fail, anyway, but after 15 years - no chance of succeeding in my eyes.

I'm sorry your family has fallen apart and you no longer have a family based, basically, on who inherits what.

I also must disagree with your statement that it's morally right to pray that your sister predeceases your father {so you can inherit "your" share}.

Sounds like the family has been dysfunctional for more than a few days. Sad.

I think your "Am I ever screwed" screen name speaks volumes - again, by law your father owes you nothing.

[ScottGem]

I'm not sure if this will fly legally, but its worth a try or a consultation with an estates attorney.

The suggestion is to have your dad put in the will that he wishes the proceeds from the sale of the house to be divided evenly among his surviving children. Since after his death, he will no longer own the property, this may not be legally binding on your sister, but at least it will put his wishes in the matter on record.

[amieverscrd]

Hello. I tried twice to post this and it apparently got lost in the ether, so if I end up triple posting I apologize in advance. Thank you to Father_Chuck and ScottGem for at least attempting to answer my question.

The other responses seemed to assume facts beyond what I posted. First of all, my father DID believe he was including me. He let my sister (the legal assistant) handle the details because he was grieving my mother's death. The deed change was dated less than a month from her funeral. He did not realize that in Michigan the deed trumps his will. My sister certainly did.

Yes we have a dysfunctional family. So? And yes I realize my father is entitled to spend his money in any way he chooses. My sister deprived him of that choice, not me. As far as the 15 year time gap, I had do reason to suspect anything like this until this week.

Re my posting name, it was a - not very successful - play on words. I dabble in french and since I don't habitually use language like s______, was also an attempt to remain anonymous.

If anybody has a constructive suggestion, I'd like very much to hear it. My father did the best he could, but he is now housebound and the chances of his getting access to an attorney to fix this are virtually nil.

Thank you for the help,

Amie

[amieverscrd]

PS - and by the way, I'm a lousy typist. There is a typo in the above post and to the person who told me it was not morally sound to wish for my sister to predecease my father - I know that. That also was a typo, unless it was a freudian slip.

Amie

[ScottGem]

Attorneys will vist the infirm to get a signature on a will (or at least send a paralegal). But there really isn't a lot of options here. Either he confronts your sister and orders her to change the deed or he makes his wishes formally known in a will. I can't see any other choices.

[Fr_Chuck]

No there is no good suggestion. The deed stands, and it is hard to prove someone not in good mind, esp years ago, since who will be the witnesses, and the such, who will be the medcal professional.

Your only real choice, forget about it, and just know that you are not going to get anything, or be aggressive in talking to your dad about it when ever you see him,

[LisaB4657]

The way I see it, there are 3 options:

(1) Your father forces your sister to give back her share of the property to him. From what you've said here so far, this is not likely to happen.

(2) You retain an attorney to try to prove that your sister took advantage of your father at a time when he was not competent to handle his own affairs. There is not a very strong likelihood of success with this option.

(3) If the current owners of the property are your father and sister as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, then there is another way to deal with this. Your father can quit claim his share of the property to you and your other sisters. That way your sister will own one-half of the property and you and your sisters will own the other half. Of course that's not completely fair to you and your other sisters, but some is better than none. The deed from your father to you and your sisters can contain a life estate allowing him to live in the house for the rest of his life.

If you think this is a viable option, try talking to your father and sisters about it. If they go for it then an attorney can prepare it, send it to your father for his signature and then have it recorded fairly inexpensively. Your other sister's permission is not required to do this and she won't be able to sell the property in the future without your permission.

[Fr_Chuck]

And my wife said after reading this thread, actually hope nothing happens to the sister right away or he may be the prime suspect.