Q: My mother-in-law wants to give the property she has in NC Dare Co. to her son as a gift. How do we need to handle this?
A:
This is not necessarily a good idea because there are tax implications. A donor (your mother-in-law) would have to pay gift taxes on any gifts of money over $13,000. Also, there are lifetime gift exemptions and this would count against that. There is also the Medicaid look back period. Is the mother-in-law receiving or going to be receiving Medicaid within 5 years? If so, then she may be disqualified from eligibility depending on when the gift was made and when she would apply for such benefits.
I also assume the property is owned free and clear. Otherwise, any transfer would violate the due on sale clause if there is a mortgage.
Your mother-in-law needs to sit down with an estate planning attorney and see if the transfer now would make sense, from an estate planning perspective and tax perspective. If it does, then its a simple matter for any real estate or even the estate planning attorney to prepare a deed.
If your mother-in-law is adamant about doing this and does not care about the other issues, then she needs to see a real estate attorney to prepare a deed or make sure that the conveyance is structured properly so as to avoid some of the tax issues.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
