Q: Can my grandmother take her name off of a deed and put my name on the deed?
My grandmother, her sister, and deceased Brothers Daughter inherited there parents (my great grandparents) house. They are all three on the deed and would all receive equal shares if the property was sold. However they don't want to sell and prefer to keep the property in the family. My grandmother called me yesterday and told me that she wanted to give me and my wife the property. Or take her name off of the deed and put our name on the deed. Neither her sister or Niece have an issue with her doing this. My question is, how do I make this happen without spending a tone of money? Is this something I can take off?
A: It’s a matter of pay me now or pay me (more) later. Lots of heirs decide to handle this in a Will or just leave it to family lore. Makes me a ton of money straightening out those messes a generation later. The correct approach is to put the house in a family trust. But, at least, you should draft and record a deed of your grandmother’s tenant in common share to you, and, yes, there will be some fees and some taxes.
A:
In short, yes.
A grandparent might deed property into a Trust (as another attorney noted), or simply do a deed transfer directly to the intended recipient. If the goal is to allow someone to inherit the property without going through probate this may be best accomplished through a life estate deed.
Depending on who transfers property to whom, this may or may not trigger transfer and recordation tax. Typically a grandparent can deed a grandchild property without incurring tax but uncles / aunts cannot leave a niece/nephew property without paying transfer taxes. However, it may be possible to avoid tax by doing two back-to-back deeds. Whether this is a good idea depends on the entire situation and of course the people who own the property get to decide.
Setting aside any taxes, the cost to prepare such deed is relatively modest. My firm does these in nearly every Maryland county for a flat fee and every county charges a $60 recording fee. You're welcome to contact my firm, or another attorney of your choosing, to discuss. While I hope this post offers some assistance it is not intended to create an attorney/client relationship or promise to represent.
2 users found this answer helpful
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.
