Life Estate Problems

[Manday]

What is the name of your state? Florida

Hello,

My mother is having problems with her sisters over a life estate issue.

Over ten years ago before my Grandmother died, she insisted that my mother and our family live in her house after she died. My mother's 4 siblings were not happy, but none of them wanted the house and didn't want to sell it so they supposedly agreed. They just sent my mother the forms to sign and it came out later that the 4 of them owned the house and she had life estate. She did not agree with this, this was not what they have agreed on in the first place, so she insisted that they redo the deed with the house divided 5 ways. They insisted that she DID own part of the house and was overreacting. Then the 2 brothers transferred their interest to the other 2 sisters. My mother then insisted that the deed be redone with the sisters each owning a third and her having a life estate in the other 2/3 so she could get the Homestead exemption. They finally did, causing a family feud to continue until this day.

Now to the current problem. The hurricanes did a lot of damage to the house. The roof has to be completely replaced and brought up to code. In addition, the general condition of the house has continued to deteriorate. When we moved in, it was rotting and needed serious work. My mother cannot afford to repair anything beyond the roof, which the insurance will pay for. She asked her sisters, who still claim to not want the house, to sign their interest over to her as sole owner so she can take out a mortgage, pay off her debts and fix the house. They are refusing to do that or to help with the repairs, claiming that she is supposed to sink outrageous amounts of money into a house that she will never own so they can reap the benefits when she either dies or they sell the house.

Question 1: What is she expected to do under the life estate regarding repairs?

Question 2: Is there any way to force the siblings to transfer their interests in the house? I have looked up the idea of partition, but my mother cannot afford to buy the house, even at auction.

This seems to be an unwinnable situation and my mother is just about ready to leave the house and let them deal with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Manday

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Question 1: What is she expected to do under the life estate regarding repairs?

normal maintenance and upkeep which, obviously from your post, has not been done.

Question 2: Is there any way to force the siblings to transfer their interests in the house? I have looked up the idea of partition, but my mother cannot afford to buy the house, even at auction.

no, but any owner can force the sale of the home by filing partition.

This seems to be an unwinnable situation and my mother is just about ready to leave the house and let them deal with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Manday

the tell mom to get the roof fixed, put some paint on the walls and file partition and sell the damn thing, taking her portions of the sales proceeds and putting a downpayment on her own home.

 

[Manday]

My mother has been told that she is eligible to get a mortgage on the house since her name is the one that shows on the deed when searched. She has seriously been considering this to pay off her debts. What would happen if she did this then her sisters decided to file for partition? She doesn't want to do any underhanded or deceptive but she has wondered about this (the mortgage itself, the quit claim deed is a new issue that complicates things) for some time.

 

[GaAtty]

GAAtty

Whoever told your mother she could get a mortgage on the house is wrong. On life estate property, the mortgage company will not do a thing unless everyone signs, and it doesn't sound like the sisters will do this. As far as the maintenance, your mother is responsible for it, and taxes, too. However, I have not heard of a property which was divided with one part being life estate and the other part being owned in fee simple. That is strange, and, as you can see, incredibly impractical. If no money can be borrowed on it without the sisters' agreement, then I think if I were your mom, I'd walk, too. Maybe they will fix it and come running after her to come back and live there. Before she leaves, however, she needs to check her life estate contract. Some of them state that if the person abandons the life estate, or moves away from it permanently, or similar things, that they lose it. Your mom may also consider selling the sisters her life estate interest, since they will also not be able to sell the property without her signature. In other words, because of their actions or inaction, she has to move, so get some money out of the proposition! Your mother could also rent the house, as a life tenant she can do that. Maybe she would want to rent it to a handyman person and collect the rent and go someplace else to live.

 

[Manday]

The sisters have agreed to sign the deed over to my mother as long as she pays for the lawyer. Is a lawyer even necessary? She sent them quit claim deeds already filled out, shouldn't they just have to sign and notarize them?

Does the life estate issue complicate the transfer? It seems to me that if the sisters signed the quit claim deeds and my mother owns the whole property, then the life estate would then be moot. Am I wrong in thinking this? Is this why they might think they need a lawyer? It seems to me that they are just trying to make my mother pay as much as they can since there's no telling how much of a bill they are going to run up and expect her to pay. Should she get her own lawyer? She can't really afford the one they're insisting on getting (I have no idea how much this will really cost) so another would definitely be a hardship, but if it's necessary she doesn't have much of a choice.

They are demanding an answer today, please help.

 

[shortbus]

It's worth having a lawyer so you don't duplicate the problems you had the first time around.

But yes, if all those entitled to the remainder after the life estate quitclaim their interest to your mother, she'll hold title in fee simple absolute and there won't be any lfe estate.