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Myself, brother, sister, and father all held a piece of property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. My father gave me his interest in the property. How is title now held? I was told that I now own 1/4 as tenant in common with my siblings, and 1/4 as joint tenants with siblings; that they now each, as before, own 1/4 as joint tenants with right of survivorship
So does that mean that I still retain right of survivorship? Does it also mean that if I should predecease them that I could will my 1/4 interest to my heirs?
I fear that my sister will try to partition the property, and as I have been living here for 18 years, and maintaining the grounds, doing repairs, painting, sprinkler system, and a lot more, what and how much could I conceivably charge back and re-coup at the partition? And exactly what kind of lawyer should I seek to help me prepare an inventory of my expenditures that I might get back? My hope is to convince my sister that partitioning is definitely not going to net her as much as she thinks, and to settle for a lesser amount in a buy-out from me, as all I want to do is live here as I have been for almost 20 years. And my father is n ow 95 years of age, I truly believe that the house would not still be in our possession if I had not been living here , on the property, in a mobile home, and in the house for the last 2 years, caring for my dad
You need an attorney who specializes in estate planning and will preparation. To be more precise, YOUR FATHER needs this service. If his intention was to give you some 'right' to live in this property for your lifetime, he probably screwed it up already. But if he's still alive and mentally competent, it cam probably be fixed.
I'll add one more thing: since this is a trailer, it may not be considered real estate. In some states (like AZ) a trailer is considered a vehicle - personal property - rather than real estate. Make sure the attorney is aware that this home is actually a trailer.
You need an attorney who specializes in estate planning and will preparation. To be more precise, YOUR FATHER needs this service. If his intention was to give you some 'right' to live in this property for your lifetime, he probably screwed it up already. But if he's still alive and mentally competent, it cam probably be fixed.
I'll add one more thing: since this is a trailer, it may not be considered real estate. In some states (like AZ) a trailer is considered a vehicle - personal property - rather than real estate. Make sure the attorney is aware that this home is actually a trailer.
Re-reading the original post, it appears there is land and a house. OP is/was living in a mobile home also on the property.
No one here can explain all this to you. What you can do is look up for joint tenancy where it will explain how land ownership moves with regard to the owners and inheritance. What I will tell you is this, in general, land/property held as joint tenancy with rights of survivorship means that all own the property and, upon the death of one or more, the property is owned in its entirety by the survivors. The main purpose of having a JTWROS is that it AVOIDS probate.
IIRC, your father has passed and the property in its entirety is owned equally by all on the current deed. Whether your father can have left you his portion is what you need an attorney to answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by http://www.ruffllc.com/Resources/JointTenancyTroubles.htm
Once you add someone as a joint tenant to a given asset, they also own the given asset just as you do.
The kind of lawyer you need to consult is probate (wills & trusts) and/or real estate.
I know it is not an inheritance issue. I tried to edit the post but I was not able to. And I am all too aware that I need council. Would you believe the lawyer that drew up the warranty deed did not understand about the ownership. I gained the information from an attorney online. I do understand what rights of survivorship is, but the transfer of the property broke the tenancy, because one of the conditions is that it must be done at the same time and all on one document for all owners to be joint tenants. So now part of it is one way and part is another.
I know I need an attorney. But WHAT KIND?
And, no, my father can not do anything to change the ownership of this property at this point. He has a life estate only. He can affect the disposition of the property.And my father did not attempt to transfer his interest, he DID transfer his interest
I GUESS I WAS NOT particularly clear in my original post. I seek now an attorney that will help me prepare for a possible partition suit brought by my siblings, and to confirm the exact ownership structure .
And my father has not passed. And I do not believe we all own equal interests. Before my father gave me his interest we were all equal owners , all 100% owners WROS. After the transfer I became a 50% owner, my siblings each 25% owners. Of course this pissed them off big time. They tried to challenge it, to no avail It's a bit tricky. II need an attorney who understands this and also could help me should a partition suit arise - actually I would like one to help me convince my sister NOT to file suit, but to take less than market value fort her share, because we would get so much less if we have to sell the house by Court order. And that's the only way I will sell
and the trailer is real property. It is not registered every year. But the trailer is not the issue, really. I mentioned the trailer only because I din't want you to think I was living in the same house with my parents for 18 years
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