Removing Name from Deed of Parents Home

[chiswick]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I am currently in divorce proceeding - filed in May 2017.
In late 2015 I removed my name from my sister’s house and left it in her name and my widowed Dad.
My wife later found out and is now accusing me of pre-planning for my divoce. We were in counseling around that time. I explained that I had my marital home and wanted only my sister to have her name on deed with my Dad as she was full-time caregiver to my Mom.

What ramifications will this have in court?
Both attorneys know of the name removal.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I am currently in divorce proceeding - filed in May 2017.
In late 2015 I removed my name from my sister’s house and left it in her name and my widowed Dad.
My wife later found out and is now accusing me of pre-planning for my divoce. We were in counseling around that time. I explained that I had my marital home and wanted only my sister to have her name on deed with my Dad as she was full-time caregiver to my Mom.

What ramifications will this have in court?
Both attorneys know of the name removal.

There's no way we can guess as to what (if any) "ramifications" this will have to your divorce matter. You are represented...talk to your attorney.

With that said: I think it can easily be argued that you improperly transferred a marital asset. Frankly, it pretty much reeks of it.

 

[HRZ]

IT may smell but I'm not jumping to conclusions ...yes, inherited property is marital property in MA and subject to equitable distribution ...but post exactly how you and each other got on title and exactly how the title reads and who was n there cira 2015 ..there are some possible situations where such was very limited or no real current separate value to interest transferred .

And hindsight is often very selective!

WHat did your attorney say?

 

[not2cleverRed]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I am currently in divorce proceeding - filed in May 2017.
In late 2015 I removed my name from my sister’s house and left it in her name and my widowed Dad.
My wife later found out and is now accusing me of pre-planning for my divoce. We were in counseling around that time. I explained that I had my marital home and wanted only my sister to have her name on deed with my Dad as she was full-time caregiver to my Mom.

What ramifications will this have in court?
Both attorneys know of the name removal.

Some relevant questions that your lawyer might ask:
* When was your name put on the house? Before or after you married?
* Was this your parents home that had been transferred to the children's name?
* What, if any, marital assets have been used to maintain the home?

I suspect that an argument could be made, depending on the circumstances, that this was a gift to you and your sister to simplify probate.

Depending when and how the gift was made, and whether marital assets were used to maintain it, it may or may not be a marital asset. The correct documentation is necessary to show that this was indeed a gift. (Use your google-fu. I tried "are gifts marital assets Massachusetts".)

If it was not (legally) a gift to you and your sister, you can most certainly be accused of "wasteful disposition" of a marital asset, and the value of your share would then be added to the equation for determining the totality of marital assets to be split.

If it was (legally) a gift to you and your sister, but you have been using marital $ to maintain it - for example, if you and your sister alternate on who will pay property taxes, then you have quite possibly muddied the waters, as it would be likely that you had used marital $ for that.

Based on this, you just might not have enough to buy out you wife's share of the marital home.

You really should keep everything related to the divorce together here, and you should really communicate with your lawyer.

 

[HRZ]

WE are still waiting for OPs input ...more facts helps narrow the guessing ...and right now it's less than conclusive if a completed gift of something of an ascertainable value was even made to OP

 

[HRZ]

And MA imposes a mandatory duty to care for your parents Ch 273 Sec 20 just for debate.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth, when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. No such neglect or refusal shall be deemed unreasonable as to a child who shall not during his minority have been reasonably supported by such parent, if such parent was charged with the duty so to do, nor as to a child who, being one of two or more children, has made proper and reasonable contribution toward the support of such parent.

That's a lot of wiggle room.

 

[chiswick]

Yes my name was put on the home when I was single along with my still single sister and both my parents I’m 1991. ImMy Mom passed in 2014 and since I had my hown home I had my name removed in 2015 leaving it in my Dad and sisters name.

 

[chiswick]

Marital assets were not used to maintain. I bought my own home in 1996 and married in 1998.

 

[HRZ]

Exactly how was it titled in 1991 ? Inc all relevant. TIC or JTWROS or life estate issues....

Was Dad still living in there when you gave back your interest ?

Merely as layman I think it is a stretch to look back well over a year ahead of the line in the sand as to asset freeze which is when notice of divorce action was filed or served ...and claim preplanning ...that's a whopping stretch...but it smells according to the nose of the smeller.

Lots of people preplan ..funerals, college, vacation trips....it's not as if you bought a new lover a home and BMW and moved your company assets offshore to a numbered account the year before you remmdered to file for divorce. **************

WHats the beef you Forgot to Post? ,

 

[chiswick]

TIC on purchase in 1991.

 

[chiswick]

JTWROS in 2015. Yes my Dad still occupy home.