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Old 06-05-2019, 03:08 PM
 
3,264 posts, read 2,304,149 times
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Hello. I would like to hear from Real Estate attorneys or someone who is very familiar with Life Estates. My close friend signed a life estate when he was about 21 when his father passed. The mother told him it would be good because the house would be his when she passes but the house could never be sold.

Fast forward to today and she is still alive. He is in his mid 40s and wants to sell the house and get out of NY. He claims he is stuck. I called a local Real Estate attorney that I knew from being their IT guy and she said that all he has to do is file a partition action and it would not be cheap. It will also ruin their relationship forever, which he is willing to risk. She has since left the firm.

Has anyone successfully gotten someone out of a Life Estate? He is stuck home. He will not move out of state as he wishes because the mortgage is in his name and he knows the house will probably foreclose when he stops paying, which he doesn't want on his credit score. I would love to hear from anyone who can assist. We are in NY.
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Old 06-05-2019, 03:42 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,091 posts, read 82,455,924 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trusso11783 View Post
...the house would be his when she passes but the house could never be sold.
...and wants to sell the house and get out of NY.
If Mom wanted to sell now... she could. Apparently she doesn't.
Regardless... her selling it doesn't put the proceeds into the son's hands.
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Old 06-05-2019, 04:05 PM
 
3,264 posts, read 2,304,149 times
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Mom insists on dying in the house. He doesn't want anything other to get this house and mortgage out of his name. Nothing more. He has put his life on hold until this happens. Any woman he meets wants nothing to do with this situation because the mother and himself are legally attached.
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Old 06-05-2019, 04:07 PM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
14,307 posts, read 11,786,350 times
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Life estates are usually intended to provide for Mom to live in the house until she dies.

This is written as if he is the one living there and 'stuck' there.... Is she still in the house or not?
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Old 06-05-2019, 04:09 PM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
14,307 posts, read 11,786,350 times
Reputation: 38442
Quote:
Originally Posted by trusso11783 View Post
Mom insists on dying in the house. He doesn't want anything other to get this house and mortgage out of his name. Nothing more. He has put his life on hold until this happens. Any woman he meets wants nothing to do with this situation because the mother and himself are legally attached.

And women are going to be more impressed with a guy who wants to kick his mother out of her house and sell it?
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Old 06-05-2019, 05:00 PM
 
8,539 posts, read 12,264,180 times
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Your description of the situation isn't very clear. Most likely, it is the mother who retains a life estate in the house. For your friend to have been listed as the recipient of the house, subject to the life estate, he typically wouldn't have signed a Deed for that. It's the grantor--the mother--who would have needed to sign.

There is no reason for your friend to be living in the house. Tell him just to move and take care of his own life. Suggest counseling.


P.S. Actually, he could likely, technically, sell his interest--but it would be subject to the mother's life estate. There probably wouldn't be many takers unless it seemed that her life expectancy would be short.
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Old 06-05-2019, 05:45 PM
 
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I am not a lawyer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn.

But it seems to me that a partition action is used when multiple parties own shares in an indivisible property. This does not seem to be the case here. Apparently son owns the property but mother has a life estate. It's not clear how it got to this point- maybe the house was willed to son and he agreed to the life estate? Or mother was willed the house, and received a life estate in exchange for giving the house to son? And how did son end up with a mortgage??

In any case, I am guessing that there are few reasons to invalidate a life estate. Maybe fraud or diminished capacity.

Son needs a lawyer. Probably much of the billed time will be spent explaining how this all came about.
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Old 06-05-2019, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
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this is a legal question, not a real estate question. and a legal trust question, not a real estate question. perhaps whatever attorney had him sign the life estate can provide him some guidance
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Old 06-05-2019, 08:12 PM
 
3,264 posts, read 2,304,149 times
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He signed it when he was 21 or so. The dad died. The mother had no income. The only way to keep the house was to get him to sign the life estate. His name is on the deed and the mortgage is in his name. She used her own attorney. He trusted her and didn’t get his own attorney. I guess as a 21 year old, when your mother offers you her house for free as long as he pays the mortgage, it sounds good. That is the situation. He found a job out of state but when he looked into buying or renting a house, no one would assist him because he has a mortgage in his name. He also knows the house will foreclose because the mother has no money. I see his point. He is stuck. The last few women he dated all ended it because he is home with mom. They didn’t want to get involved with him because his credit could be ruined in an instant if he does not continue paying for a house in a town and state he does not want to live in. And yes, one of the women told him to simply let it foreclose so the mother it is forced to be evicted onto the street. But then he would have a foreclosure on his credit.

So, I am not looking for any comments on his situation or how it got to this. I am only looking for advice on getting out of a life estate. When I sent him to my real estate attorney, he was asked who the mothers attorney was and my attorney shook his head and said this will be a nightmare because her attorney is well known to ignore all attorneys requests and stall and delay. He didn’t want to touch the case over it.
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Old 06-05-2019, 08:26 PM
 
Location: NMB, SC
41,698 posts, read 17,276,036 times
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wow sounds like he got taken by his own parents.
Mom gets to live in the house as long as she lives.
Son on deed and mortgage so he has to pay.
Cannot sell house because mom still lives.

Oh he can move away but still has to pay the mortgage.
If he sells he has to tell the buyers that "mom comes with the house".

Sounds worse then a divorce with alimony.
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