[Grandson1]

My grandmother recently passed and had put her home 'in trust' before she passed. The two direct beneficiaries of her trust are my mother and her brother (my uncle). Unfortunately, my mother passed away shortly after my grandmother passed. So now my father will inherit everything of my mother's, including half of my grandmother's trust/estate.

The challenge is my uncle, who is not in good health/mental state - he is living in my grandmothers (his mothers) house. He is broke and really has no means to pay for anything. We are NOT looking to sell the house, as frankly he needs a place to live. But with the property taxes and the home equity loan on the house, my Dad needs to have full ownership of the house to make sure everything is paid and taken care of. Otherwise we frankly risk losing the house due to unpaid property taxes or missed home equity loan payments.

How do we legally go about getting my Uncle to authorize his portion of the house be transferred to my father? So my father would have sole ownership (my mom's 1/2 and then the other 1/2 from my Uncle) My father is already paying all the bills and has lent my Uncle (his brother in law) considerable money. We have discussed it verbally with my Uncle, and he seems to agree that he should not be responsible for the house (financially).

[JudyKayTee]

You cannot force your Uncle to sell or sign his share to your father.

You can certainly offer to buy hm out.

Whose name is on the equity loan?

[Grandson1]

You cannot force your Uncle to sell or sign his share to your father.

You can certainly offer to buy hm out.

Whose name is on the equity loan?

To JudyKayTee - Thanks, and understood. We are not looking to force anything on anyone. We believe my uncle staying in my Grams house is the best option for him (otherwise essentially he would be homeless and more than likely living with my father, myself or a friend.) None of which is a good option.

The home equity loan is in my deceased grandmothers name (her trust). The loan was taken out a number of years ago and that money given by my grandmother (his mom) to my uncle to remodel his old condo. That previous property of my uncle's is in foreclosure and he has also filed for bankruptcy. So legally, my deceased mother and my uncle probably both 'owe' for the home equity loan, but in the real world, the equity loan should all be my uncle's responsibility.

My uncle is living off a very modest social security amount, and can barely make ends meet on a monthly basis.

My question is how do we buy him out or make the transfer of the home to my father. As for the 'buy out' - he already owes way too much to the family, so there would be no money going to my uncle. We want to make sure that the equity loan and the property taxes continue to be taken care of so the lender nor the state put any type of lien on the place. He has no ability to pay either of those and as I said, selling the property is probably the worst option right now due to the depressed housing market and then it also puts him out on the street.

[JudyKayTee]

Consult with an Attorney so the paperwork is in order and in accordance with the trust, your uncle basically "signs off" and the title goes in your father's name alone.

I would do NOTHING without an Attorney to make sure you are not violating any terms of any trust or agreement.

[ScottGem]

First, there is no legal need for the property to be solely in your father's name for him to pay the taxes and mortgage. He can make the payments, even if he had no legal interest in the property.

Second, depending on the terms of the trust, the property may or may not need to be transferred into your father's and your uncle's names. Its possible the trust could continue as the owner and payments made through the trust.

If not, then your father needs to buy out your uncle. The terms of the buyout could be forgiveness of existing debt so no money changes hands. Your father just gets financing to pay of the balance of the loan and your uncle signs over his share at the closing. The contract could include a life estate that allows your uncle to live there as long as he is able.

There is another alternative. Your uncle could will the property to your father or have the ttile set as joint tenants with right of survivorship. In this way your father is assured of getting the property in his name after your uncle dies. I assume that is your father's concern, that when you uncle dies, he'll be able to recoup his investment in the property.

[Grandson1]

First, there is no legal need for the property to be solely in your father's name for him to pay the taxes and mortgage. He can make the payments, even if he had no legal interest in the property.

Second, depending on the terms of the trust, the property may or may not need to be transferred into your father's and your uncle's names. Its possible the trust could continue as the owner and payments made through the trust.

If not, then your father needs to buy out your uncle. The terms of the buyout could be forgiveness of existing debt so no money changes hands. Your father just gets financing to pay of the balance of the loan and your uncle signs over his share at the closing. The contract could include a life estate that allows your uncle to live there as long as he is able.

There is another alternative. Your uncle could will the property to your father or have the ttile set as joint tenants with right of survivorship. In this way your father is assured of getting the property in his name after your uncle dies. I assume that is your father's concern, that when you uncle dies, he'll be able to recoup his investment in the property.

To ScottGem,

Thank you, you gave me good insight. I also understand that a Quit Claim Deed can easily transfer ownership. The fact that it is in trust also does comfort me that the home could not be infringed upon due to my Uncle's pending bankruptcy.

[ScottGem]

I forgot about that, so your fear is that his share of the home will go to his creditors? If it is is residence, that's unlikely. But if you want to get it out of his hands before the bankruptcy, then a buyout is the answer.