In-law living arrangements

[txcowgirl]

[b]What is the name of your state? TX

My sister-in-law is thinking of leaving her husband and moving to TX and we have agreed to let her live in a trailer on an acre lot next to our home property. The property is both in my husbands and my name. We are not asking her for a deposit. She will not be paying any rent, she only has the responsibility of paying for damages that she or her dog incur while living there, her electric bill, 1/2 of the water bill and yearly taxes on that piece of property which at this time are only about $100. My dilema is that she has had many drug and alcohol past experiences in her life. She is leaving her husband for this reason, has left him in the past, but gone back to him. I do not want her husband to show up in the future and think he is going to live here as I don't want to deal with any of his issues. My husband would allow him to move in with her, so in order to avoid a legal conflict, I need to know what type of agreement I should have her sign to prevent this so that I can have her/ them leave if this does occur. Do I, my husband and my sister-in-law all have to sign the agreement to avoid any arguement if there is a problem and she has to move. Do I need to have a reason to ask her to leave if I consider it a hardship with her living next door. We get along great, but I worry about the future and what she may do. Thanks in advance for your responses.What is the name of your state?

[Hot Topic]

She may not pay rent, but she'll have other financial obligations which make her a tenant. If problems arise and you want her off the property, you'll have to evict her.

[nextwife]

You might also draft a rental agreement, spelling out her responsibilities, that she is considered MTM, and that NO OTHER PARTIES are allowed to occupy your property.

[dinakerls]

Draw up a rental agreement, specifying the instances in which you would want to terminate your lease with her to include her conduct, the conduct of her visitors, and stress that only she is allowed to live on that property and NO ONE else. Even though she isn't paying rent, list all of her other obligations in the lease such as paying for 1/2 the water bill, a portion of the annual property taxes, etc.

It doesn't have to be a big complicated document - just make sure that you have it all in writing, signed two originals, you and your husband and the tenant sign both - you keep an original and she gets an original.