Expert: Dick Dennis - 10/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: ..we currently live in a home that was inherited by my sister at the time of my fathers death, the property is still in the name of his surviving spouse, my sister has possesion of the  title of the property . she has allowed us to live in the house, but the house in great need of repair. i told my sister that my fiance and i would be willing to make all extensive repairs, we have spoken to contractors and the home is in need of total repair  up to and including the possibility of rebuilding the whole structure. all in all my question is..." can the house and property legally be sold to us without the transfer of he title of the home and the land that it rests on.  We are more than willing to help my sister, but we dont want to commit ourselves to such a large debt..... we anxiously await your reply...thank you

ANSWER: You make this sound very confusing, Brena: First you say the home is in the name of the surviving spouse. Then you say your sister has title to the property in the very next sentence. Is your sister the surviving spouse? I cannot help you until I know who actually has title to the property. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: please pardon the confusion....the title of the home is in the surviving spouse's name(our mother is the surviving spouse)our mother refuses to sign over ownership to my sister.  It may be that the property is not to be transferred to my sister until the death of our mother, we are unsure and have made arrangements to actually view our fathers last will and testament (if that is the case maybe you could give us some idea of what may come of this situation?...my sisters name is not named on the deed at all, only that the property was inherited to my sister at the time of our fathers death, , our father was married at the time of his death. When i mentioned that my sister has possession of the title i was speaking of the "actual document" itself

Answer
Whoever actually holds the deed doesn't mean a hill of beans, Brena. It's what is recorded in the county recorder's office that counts. You would have to check to see how the title was held while your father was still alive. Did it say something like, James Jones and Ethel Jones in joint tenancy? If that was true, then it automatically goes over to Ethel Jones upon James Jones death. You children will just have to wait until your mother goes. I don't know why you even mention that your sister is part of the title. When your mother dies you may have a probate process if your mother's estate is of high value. It is a good idea to sit down with an ESTATE attorney to see how this whole thing should be handled. You could arrange for a LIVING FAMILY TRUST. Your mother could remain as the main trustee and you children would be successor trustees. You would never have to actually change title. The name of the trust would be the owner of the property with the trustee governing everything. I would recommend this way to handle this. I do wish you well, Brena.

Dick Dennis        dixiedee13@aol.com