Q: How can a home with multiple beneficiaries in a trust be converted to a single beneficiaries name?
A 62 year old female continues to live in her parents home after they have been dead for several years. She receives minimum disability benefits. The home was part of a trust to multiple family members, one of which has died and the others seem to have no interest in the property as far as helping with taxes and upkeep etc. The 62 year old lady wants to catch up the taxes and maintain the property by doing a reverse mortgage. If she does not do the reverse mortgage the property will be sold for taxes and she will be homeless. How could she proceed to get the property in her name and maintain her place to live? The home may be worth around $180K and is in need of many repairs as well as being several years behind in taxes.
A:
If the house has been retitled in the names of the multiple family members as a result of administration of the trust, then the other owners need to sign one or more deeds transferring their interests to the 62 year old lady.
If the house is still in the name of the trust, then the trust instrument needs to be examined to determined what administration still needs to take place, if any. If administration is all caught up, then the other beneficiaries can assign their interests to the 62 year old lady inside the trust and then the trustee can distribute the home just to her.
Every person involved should consult with an attorney to obtain advice regarding the wisdom of doing this and the best way to accomplish this. Every legal transaction has legal consequences and each person needs to understand the impact on him or her. There could be tax consequences, impact on government benefits eligibility, warranty obligations, and more.
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