Expert: liznarr - 10/8/2007

Question
QUESTION: My husband and I purchased a home in Dec 2006 and the title deed was "joint tenants w/common law right of survivorship" (we were unmarried at the time). Since then we got married in Jan 2007, and now want to change the title to "tenants by the entirety". We live in Herndon, which is Fairfax County, VA. How do we go about effecting this change.

ANSWER: Hi Zarana,

Joint Tenancy and Tenancy by the Entirety both serve similar purposes, but you are wise – now that you have married – to create a deed recognizing you as one entity.

The change you want to make needs to be properly worded and recorded, and any good real estate attorney can draw up and record a new deed for you.

Congratulations on your marriage, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth


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

QUESTION: Elizabeth, thanks for your email response. The main reason why we want to change title is to protect the house from being liened in case something goes wrong with my husband's business--plumbing contractor. However his company is an LLC. Would that in itself (the LLC formation) preclude our house from being liened or involved in any manner should someone sue his business?

Answer
Zarana,

Your follow up question is more of a legal question, and you should consult with a good attorney in your area for the answer you need.

There ARE ways to pierce a corporate veil, and a good attorney can give you the answers you are looking for.

One tip that a local attorney gave me a while back is that anytime a business owner signs any legal documents FOR OR ON BEHALF OF HIS COMPANY, they should be signed, for example, as …

Zarana Plumbing Company,
By ____________________,
Its President

If a business owner does not sign legal documents as an officer of his company, he is signing personally and thus, might be able to be sued personally.

I work with a lot of business owners, and many of them will generally put their home in the wife’s name.  This way, if the wife is NOT involved in the business, there should be no way to bring the home (in the wife’s name) into play.

You are smart to be thinking this far ahead, but do consult with an attorney for legal advice.

Regards,
Elizabeth