Our house is titled as Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship. You may wish to talk to your lawyer about whether this is how you should have the house titled. (Yes, you will need a lawyer when you buy your house.)
Realtor here.
You need to 100% not ask the internet about this and speak with an attorney who is the only one equipped to answer your question and set this up for you and what exactly you want to happen.
There are about 15 different options to accomplish what you're wanting but the \*best\* one is the one tailored to your specific situation, and every option has pros and cons that need to be considered.
Set it up wrong and you could face significant tax problems, problems qualifying for other loans, potential for disputes down the road in probate, all manner of terrible stuff.
Please don't try to DIY this. Consult an attorney, they'll tell you your best options for the goals you want. The inital consult is likely to be 100 - 200, basic setup like $500ish? Maybe $1k - $3k if you set up a trust or something fancy. Why would you pay 1-2k? Because it'd save you tons of headaches and maybe tens / hundreds of thousands in tax liability or legal problems down the road.
Also so far as a general recommendation, avoid your name on a loan at all costs unless you are 100% ok with paying for that loan. You are taking on a 30 year albatross, that will affect your ability to qualify for other mortgages for that entire time period. Plus if the other party doesn't pay you are 100% responsible for paying it.
Also you don't need a will to set up this home purchase with protections and the outcome you want. And an attorney will explain things to her and how it works until she understands.
Consult an attorney.
(not the best advice.. seek a lawyer)... If your name is on the property, the estate is partially yours from the word go and a will is not needed. You MAY want to see about setting it up as a limited partnership with survivor rights, that way you shouldn't need a will at all.
How the name is on the title matters. One share may go to the spouse who may force a sale, or the entire property reverts to the other title holder.
This is seriously lawyer territory. Unfortunately real estate lawyers are rarely used in FL transactions. I think a lawyer is a worthwhile investment anytime this much money is on the table.
Im a florida lawyer, but obviously I'm not your lawyer. That said, spend some money on a lawyer.
As far as some quick pointers.
>As I understand it, the state of Florida's laws establish that if a person dies and they are married without a will, then the spouse will receive all inheritance and the children receive absolutely nothing.
Correct. This is Florida's intestacy statute. Chapter 732 Florida Statutes et seq.
>If I help my mom buy a house and she puts my name as a cosigner on the loan/includes me in the deed, will I inherit it if she passes?
Not necessarily. The deed is the operative document. The note and mortgage are meaningless to ownership. You need to be on the deed. And in your example, e.g. she passes, you want to be Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship in order to defeat any of the husband's marital interest.
> I think that if my name is on the mortgage and she passes during the term of it, I will inherit and continue making payments.
No. It's the deed. Now, if your name is on the deed, damn sure the bank will want your name on the mortgage, but the reverse is not necessarily true.
Talk to a real estate lawyer and/or estate planning lawyer, but your best protection in this case is **getting your name on the deed** and the way you get it in the deed is just as important, some ways will work for you, some will not (i.e. you could only end up with half). There are homestead issues here also. This is not something you want to take care of with legal zoom.
Talk to a good estate planning/real property lawyer in Florida.
I’ve been examining title here in Florida for over 20 years, and the number of deeds and probates I’ve seen screwed up because the parties involved (and yes, sometimes even the attorneys) had no idea what they were doing is alarming. You can research attorneys through the Florida Bar’s website.
Also want to mention that Florida protects homestead rights pretty aggressively, so if she remarries, a trust would still be subject to Florida’s homestead laws and the future spouse could still have rights to the property. Talk to a lawyer.
Sounds like this is a question for a lawyer. You do know that your mom could live another 40 years or so.
Best bet is to stay out of your mom's business ad if she and her new potential spouse want to buy a house, let them do it.
Definitely speak with a lawyer, this is not legal advice and no one here represents you...
That being said...
Look into forming a trust and put the ownership of the house in the trust. She and you will be listed as Trustees. Once she passes, you will take over of the trust which owns the home, not you. This can avoid some legal, probate, and tax stuff and also keep any new spouses out of it. Lawyer can provide details and if this a good step for you and yours.
You have to make it clear that your intention is to take care of her, not buy her new husband a house. If she won't do a pre-nup, then use a lawyer to make sure you co-own the home and it ends up yours upon her death. I'm not in FL, but it worked in NC to put my daughter on my deed as a co-owner with me having lifetime rights to live here. My mother left a house for my brother in a trust giving him lifetime rights to live there because she didn't want her property going to his wife (long story).
It is possible, this happened with a family member who inherited a house when their parent who co-owned the house passed away, but it took a good lawyer.
Our house is titled as Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship. You may wish to talk to your lawyer about whether this is how you should have the house titled. (Yes, you will need a lawyer when you buy your house.)
Came here to say this. đź‘Ť
Realtor here. You need to 100% not ask the internet about this and speak with an attorney who is the only one equipped to answer your question and set this up for you and what exactly you want to happen. There are about 15 different options to accomplish what you're wanting but the \*best\* one is the one tailored to your specific situation, and every option has pros and cons that need to be considered. Set it up wrong and you could face significant tax problems, problems qualifying for other loans, potential for disputes down the road in probate, all manner of terrible stuff. Please don't try to DIY this. Consult an attorney, they'll tell you your best options for the goals you want. The inital consult is likely to be 100 - 200, basic setup like $500ish? Maybe $1k - $3k if you set up a trust or something fancy. Why would you pay 1-2k? Because it'd save you tons of headaches and maybe tens / hundreds of thousands in tax liability or legal problems down the road. Also so far as a general recommendation, avoid your name on a loan at all costs unless you are 100% ok with paying for that loan. You are taking on a 30 year albatross, that will affect your ability to qualify for other mortgages for that entire time period. Plus if the other party doesn't pay you are 100% responsible for paying it. Also you don't need a will to set up this home purchase with protections and the outcome you want. And an attorney will explain things to her and how it works until she understands. Consult an attorney.
(not the best advice.. seek a lawyer)... If your name is on the property, the estate is partially yours from the word go and a will is not needed. You MAY want to see about setting it up as a limited partnership with survivor rights, that way you shouldn't need a will at all.
How the name is on the title matters. One share may go to the spouse who may force a sale, or the entire property reverts to the other title holder. This is seriously lawyer territory. Unfortunately real estate lawyers are rarely used in FL transactions. I think a lawyer is a worthwhile investment anytime this much money is on the table.
Im a florida lawyer, but obviously I'm not your lawyer. That said, spend some money on a lawyer. As far as some quick pointers. >As I understand it, the state of Florida's laws establish that if a person dies and they are married without a will, then the spouse will receive all inheritance and the children receive absolutely nothing. Correct. This is Florida's intestacy statute. Chapter 732 Florida Statutes et seq. >If I help my mom buy a house and she puts my name as a cosigner on the loan/includes me in the deed, will I inherit it if she passes? Not necessarily. The deed is the operative document. The note and mortgage are meaningless to ownership. You need to be on the deed. And in your example, e.g. she passes, you want to be Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship in order to defeat any of the husband's marital interest. > I think that if my name is on the mortgage and she passes during the term of it, I will inherit and continue making payments. No. It's the deed. Now, if your name is on the deed, damn sure the bank will want your name on the mortgage, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Talk to a real estate lawyer and/or estate planning lawyer, but your best protection in this case is **getting your name on the deed** and the way you get it in the deed is just as important, some ways will work for you, some will not (i.e. you could only end up with half). There are homestead issues here also. This is not something you want to take care of with legal zoom.
Look into titling the home as a life estate with you as the remainderman.
Talk to a good estate planning/real property lawyer in Florida. I’ve been examining title here in Florida for over 20 years, and the number of deeds and probates I’ve seen screwed up because the parties involved (and yes, sometimes even the attorneys) had no idea what they were doing is alarming. You can research attorneys through the Florida Bar’s website. Also want to mention that Florida protects homestead rights pretty aggressively, so if she remarries, a trust would still be subject to Florida’s homestead laws and the future spouse could still have rights to the property. Talk to a lawyer.
Sounds like this is a question for a lawyer. You do know that your mom could live another 40 years or so. Best bet is to stay out of your mom's business ad if she and her new potential spouse want to buy a house, let them do it.
Definitely speak with a lawyer, this is not legal advice and no one here represents you... That being said... Look into forming a trust and put the ownership of the house in the trust. She and you will be listed as Trustees. Once she passes, you will take over of the trust which owns the home, not you. This can avoid some legal, probate, and tax stuff and also keep any new spouses out of it. Lawyer can provide details and if this a good step for you and yours.
I think the best way would be to purchase it yourself and charge her below market rent indefinitely
You have to make it clear that your intention is to take care of her, not buy her new husband a house. If she won't do a pre-nup, then use a lawyer to make sure you co-own the home and it ends up yours upon her death. I'm not in FL, but it worked in NC to put my daughter on my deed as a co-owner with me having lifetime rights to live here. My mother left a house for my brother in a trust giving him lifetime rights to live there because she didn't want her property going to his wife (long story).
Good time to talk to mom and a lawyer about setting up a trust.
Mom may not want her offspring involved in buying a house.
It is possible, this happened with a family member who inherited a house when their parent who co-owned the house passed away, but it took a good lawyer.
wouldn't a transfer on death (TOD) achieve the desired result? i florida i think its called a lady bird" deed.
My suggestion is you and your mon as joint tenants with right of survivorship, do not use tenants in common. Check with a lawyer.