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transfer house ownership to a foreign relative

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fanqi203

New member
What is the name of your state? NC

I have a house in NC. I want to transfer the ownership (now it is me) to a parent in a foreign country. What is the legal process to do it?
 


Just Blue

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? NC

I have a house in NC. I want to transfer the ownership (now it is me) to a parent in a foreign country. What is the legal process to do it?
Do you own the home free and clear? What is the reason for giving the home to your parents...do you have a pending law suit or something?

ETA: Is this a home you are currently living in? If not, is it vacant or tenant occupied?
 
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Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
What is the name of your state? NC

I have a house in NC. I want to transfer the ownership (now it is me) to a parent in a foreign country. What is the legal process to do it?
The same process as transferring it to anyone else: you execute a deed transferring ownership of the property to your parent and record the deed in the county deed recording office. There are, of course, some tax issues that you'll have to deal with with that transfer. And there might be legal/tax issues for your parent in his/her home country. Note, too, that your parent will be subject to special U.S. federal tax rules as a non resident alien owning real property in the U.S.

Now, whether the transfer to your parent will achieve whatever your objective is might be another matter. It may be that there is some other way to achieve the same objective that would be better for you.
 

fanqi203

New member
Do you own the home free and clear? What is the reason for giving the home to your parents...do you have a pending law suit or something?

ETA: Is this a home you are currently living in? If not, is it vacant or tenant occupied?
free and clear... for sheltering it so it won't affect my college financial aid qualification... no law suit. it is currently being tenant occupied.
 

fanqi203

New member
The same process as transferring it to anyone else: you execute a deed transferring ownership of the property to your parent and record the deed in the county deed recording office. There are, of course, some tax issues that you'll have to deal with with that transfer. And there might be legal/tax issues for your parent in his/her home country. Note, too, that your parent will be subject to special U.S. federal tax rules as a non resident alien owning real property in the U.S.

Now, whether the transfer to your parent will achieve whatever your objective is might be another matter. It may be that there is some other way to achieve the same objective that would be better for you.
with this property, I can't get college financial aid. have to shelter it. The property is currently tenant occupied.
 

zddoodah

Active Member
I have a house in NC. I want to transfer the ownership (now it is me) to a parent in a foreign country.
What does the parenthetical mean in the context of this sentence?

What is the legal process to do it?
The "legal process" to transfer title is the same regardless where the grantee is located. You execute and deliver to the grantee a deed, which would then be filed with the local county recorder or clerk.

if you don't understand what is "legal wealth sheltering", then okay.
Likewise, if you don't understand what fraud is, then okay.

Transferring an asset to another, without consideration and, presumably, with the intent that it will be transferred back to you at some point, in order to qualify for some benefit that you do not otherwise qualify for is fraud, regardless of what other, benign label you want to slap on it.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
with this property, I can't get college financial aid. have to shelter it. The property is currently tenant occupied.
This implies that the transfer to your father is without consideration and that your father would transfer it back to you at some point after college is done. If that's the case then as others have pointed out, a sham transfer of the property to your father with the expectation that he will give it back to you in order to deceive a college financial aid office into thinking you are poorer than you really are is fraud. If that fraud is discovered you may not only find that you have to pay back the financial aid you should not have gotten but you might also face criminal prosecution. This is not "legal wealth sheltering".
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
Probably not a good idea. But provide some details as requested.
I thought I was the obvious observer. ;)

with this property, I can't get college financial aid. have to shelter it. The property is currently tenant occupied.
Meaning it is not your primary residence.

Is it you or your child that will be going to college? Perhaps you should try and qualify for a merit based scholarship instead.
 

niksadonis

New member
What is the name of your state? NC

I have a house in NC. I want to transfer the ownership (now it is me) to a parent in a foreign country. What is the legal process to do it?
It is best to consult a lawyer, who can explain the whole process of transferring the property and directly help you to prepare all the necessary documents.
 
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