Q: If there is a lien on a house, can we keep adding joint tenants, generation after generation to pass on the home?
I understand that a joint tenancy postpones the selling of a home to satisfy a lien. If I am a joint tenant on my mom's home, then she dies, the home passes on to me, the house cannot be taken and sold to satisfy the lien. Then I add my son on as a joint tenant and when I die, also, the house cannot be sold to satisfy the lien. Is this correct, that joint tenancy can postpone the house being sold to satisfy the lien as long as there is a living joint tenant?
A: It is not unusual for a mortgage and/or a promissory note to have a provision that accelerates the debt obligation upon the transfer of an interest in the property to another person. To answer your question, you would want to know the specifics of the promissory note and mortgage in question. As a practical matter, mortgage companies do not frequently accelerate mortgages upon a transfer if the loan in being repaid on a timely basis, regardless of whether the mortgage or promissory note has an acceleration clause. There are plenty of reasons why creating a joint tenancy as an estate planning tool is a bad idea. Other than adding a spouse (without the complication of stepchildren), joint tenancy is generally a second-rate estate planning option as compared to other, more practical tools. Your mother should seek advice of an estate planning attorney to determine the best method of providing for a future transfer. A transfer on death deed, creation of a revocable living trust, a will, and a sale with favorable terms would all be possibilities that could potentially provide a better option than a joint tenancy.
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.
