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I'm going to agree with Angie on this although I am not an attorney.
I have had many unmarried clients that purchased a home. Years later, they call me to sell it. During those years, they have gotten married. In North Carolina, the law says that they now own this property jointly and therefore, when it is time to sell, I must get BOTH SIGNATURES on the paperwork.
That is NC but I do not know about other states.
As for Mike and any other Realtors advising someone to "get an attorney" when a legal matter comes up...do you really think we are all in a conspiracy together?!! It is good advise, take it.
As Realtors, we are not allowed to practice law. As I tell my clients on occasion, I'm not an attorney nor am I a marriage counselor or a psychiatrist!!!
Vicki
Hi Vicki,
Some of the people I meet make me wish I were a proctologist.
This is my opinion for what it is worth.
( I have used attorneys at times and done things myself at times)
If what you want to do is paperwork and you are 100% sure you
understand the legal implications then call the clerk of court
and proceed.
If you want advice on whether it is the right thing to do, necessary,
or don't understand all the legal implications of what you are doing
talk to a lawyer.
Also, even if you talk to an attorney often you can save money by
doing the leg work if there is paperwork and redtape that must be
done at the court house. Some people have more time than money
and the clerk of court will direct you. During my divorce I did some
of the court house paperwork running around myself to save money.
Getting the house deed changed was one of those things.
This was after the lawyer gave the green light.
I did a brief search of the law, and can't find *anything* which states that real property acquired before marriage automagically becomes owned by the new spouse. The fact that both spouses need to sign documents upon the sale of the property doesn't mean they both own it as a matter of law. And if there's a divorce, or if one of the married parties dies, it may not be as simple as just saying "oh, the surviving spouse now owns it." In any event, just because something's the law now doesn't mean it'll be the law forever.
If it's important to you to have your spouse's name on the deed, for whatever reason, just go to an attorney (really, it's a simple thing, could probably just look through the yellow pages).
ok so I will seek out a lawyer to add myself to my parents deed so any recommendations for good lawyer please PM me......if my parents aren't gifting it to me but rather adding me to the deed (quit claim?) what kind of tax implications are there?
My parents want to add me to the deed on their house. Is there a way we can do this ourselves simply and cheaply like go to the courthouse or do we really have to go through a lawyer and pay him/her.
Again; not an attorney, but I have two children who are.
I "think" your name on the title of their home would make their home a recoverable asset if YOU are ever sued.
In other words; if you are in a tragic traffic accident determined to be your fault, and the injured and/or survivors of the deceased sue you for damages in excess of your insurance coverages, then your parent's home would have to be sold so that your 1/3 ownership portion (or maybe more) could be used as part of the settlement.
You and your parents need to consult an attorney before doing this. I may be very wrong, but I may be very right. There are much better means available if their intent is solely to avoid probate and/or inheritance taxes for you.
Remember the old adage: "An attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client". Re-written it becomes; "A person who represents themselves has a fool for an attorney".
Again; not an attorney, but I have two children who are.
I "think" your name on the title of their home would make their home a recoverable asset if YOU are ever sued.
In other words; if you are in a tragic traffic accident determined to be your fault, and the injured and/or survivors of the deceased sue you for damages in excess of your insurance coverages, then your parent's home would have to be sold so that your 1/3 ownership portion (or maybe more) could be used as part of the settlement.
You and your parents need to consult an attorney before doing this. I may be very wrong, but I may be very right. There are much better means available if their intent is solely to avoid probate and/or inheritance taxes for you.
Remember the old adage: "An attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client". Re-written it becomes; "A person who represents themselves has a fool for an attorney".
Excellent point. I recently had clients that wanted their new home put into a trust, at closing.
They got their advice from a relative that is an attorney. However, the attorney is not a NC attorney. He was an attorney in another state. Then they got their documents from an onsite website and had the trust recorded in NC.
Our closing attorney mentioned at closing that he would close and use the name of the trust as the owner; however, he did not think it was a good idea.
One of his concerns was that the interest deduction for the mortgage would now go to the trust, not the homeowners and there was a question as to whether or not the interest deduction would be beneficial in that situation.
The closing attorney had other issues, which was more than any of us understood so he did recommend that we go ahead and put the house into the trust but that my buyers should seek legal assistance to determine if this was the best way to handle this in NC.
I don't want to be my own attorney! There is a reason they go to law school for years and years!
I did a brief search of the law, and can't find *anything* which states that real property acquired before marriage automagically becomes owned by the new spouse. The fact that both spouses need to sign documents upon the sale of the property doesn't mean they both own it as a matter of law. And if there's a divorce, or if one of the married parties dies, it may not be as simple as just saying "oh, the surviving spouse now owns it." In any event, just because something's the law now doesn't mean it'll be the law forever.
If it's important to you to have your spouse's name on the deed, for whatever reason, just go to an attorney (really, it's a simple thing, could probably just look through the yellow pages).
You're right. Spousal interest in real estate is much more subtle than the word "ownership" coveys. There are lots of different kinds of interest in real estate, marital and otherwise.
If the intent is for the new spouse to have a true ownership interest, only a deed can grant that.
As for changes in the law - well, yes, but on the other hand, most real estate legal principles have been around for centuries.
Sorry if I missed this, but it doesn't appear that anyone has mentioned the handling of the mortgage and I'm not sure if the OP has a mortgage. But, if I'm putting my new spouse on the warranty deed I'd sure want to be sure they were on the deed of trust (mortgage) and promissory note as well, and this might require refinancing. Might, I said...I'm not an attorney or a real estate professional, just someone who did what the OP is trying to do. I waited until refinancing made sense, and used an attorney. I love him but if he's getting half the house he's also getting half the mortgage
DO NOT DO THIS. I had the same issue when my mother moved after retirement and got into a big fight with her lawyer. We worked out something that I believe was called joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. Basically the property will pass to me at her death without taxes/going through probate. The problem with being put on the deed in the traditional way is that if I had someone sue me over a business or personal matter and I lost, they could have treated the house as my asset. I believe in umbrella policies and have never been sued but am still scared of people who seem to make their living be aggreived parties.
Like everytone says check with a lawyer or even financial planner to be sure but that is what we did.
Somewhat off topic, but a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship is just a way of owning something with another person in which, upon one person's death, the surviving joint tenant becomes owner of the entirety of the property. With a tenancy in common, the other typical form of joint ownership, the dead person's interest in the property passes not to the other owner but to the dead person's estate. (A tenancy in the entirety is, unlike the others, a recent creation of statutory law and is the default when a married couple purchases a piece of property *after* marriage. It has certain advantages regarding asset protection.)
So if you're a joint tenant with rights of survivorship, you are on the deed as a co-owner. And a JTWROS does little to stop a creditor from going after your interest in the property. I assume your attorney set up some other kind of legal shield.
Anyone interested in the law of property in NC can learn all about it here. Fun stuff, depending on your definition of fun, and mostly old as well; the law regarding joint tenancy was enacted in 1784 (though the concept itself dates back much further, but, you know, the NC General Assembly had only been around for seven years by then).
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I would discourage them from doing this...
