Expert: Dick Dennis - 1/14/2008

Question
my brother (grantor),signed a life estate deed to his step son(grantee),and now he plans on starting a new life in another state.I want to know can he get his property back from the grantee. he claims that it was signed fraudulently.and now the grantee demands money before signing property over.my brother signed life estate deeds without grantee appearing on documents as a witness. can anything be done in this situation.

Answer
Each state has its own nuance in handling a life estate, Andy. Since this is definitely something a real estate attorney should handle, I suggest he do so. A life estate usually is granted to someone who is up in years, however if the step son is younger than 18, he cannot convey the property to anyone. His parent or guardian must do it. If he is over 18, negotiation might be in order. After all, that is probably what an attorney will probably do.

One othert thing. A very important condition to a life estate is that the grantee must maintain the property in proper condition. If he fails to do so, then the owner of the property may break the life estate. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis        dixiedee13@aol.com