Dear Moneyist,
My mother is 83 and still in good health. About seven years ago she decided to leave her house to just me and my younger brother. I have never left her side and I care for her 99% of the time. The house has since been fully transferred to me. She is not on any paperwork.
Since she broke this news to my older brother he has cut all ties with the family. He refuses to return calls or texts. This has broken my mother’s heart. My older brother and his wife and financially very well-off and have no need for an extra house. This was a huge part of my mother decision. I have lived in this house with my mother for almost 20 years.
My mother’s will names all three brothers as receiving the house when she passes. I figured since she no longer owns the house she can no longer will it to her children. The house is fully under my name. What legal action does my older brother have to fight this? In preparation for any action from him after my mother passes — hopefully not for many years — I have already obtained a note from her primary doctor saying she is of full mental capacity and capable of making her own decisions.
Am I worried for no reason or does he have some legal options to take part of what my mother didn’t want him to have?
Concerned in San Diego
Dear Concerned,
Your mother can’t leave your brother something she doesn’t own. Make sure your name alone is on the deed of the house, and not just on the mortgage. Since your mother is of sound mind, why don’t you ask her to amend her will? That will give you peace of mind, if nothing else. If what you say is true, the house now belongs to you. But even given what you say about your mother’s will contradicting the ownership of her former home, I’d double-check that paperwork.
There’s another issue that you may not have thought of: You are now a homeowner, so you should also think about your own will. Do you have one? Do you have heirs? If you have no children, you have more reason to make a will. If your mother pre-deceased you and you pre-deceased your brother, he would inherit your property in the event that you died intestate (or without a will). A will signed in California needs to be witnessed by two people, and they must sign it too.
I’ve answered letters where property has torn families apart: A sister who stole $100,000 in stock, siblings who bounced checks on their parents, hidden wills, children who tried to take control of their parents’ estate to fuel a drug addiction and even borrowed $30,000 from their mother in the hope that she would die before they paid it back. (I’ve seen that last one more times than I’d care to remember.) The lesson from all of these familial shenanigans?
Never leave anything to chance, especially when it comes to family.
Do you have questions about inheritance, tipping, weddings, family feuds, friends or any tricky issues relating to manners and money? Send them to MarketWatch’s Moneyist and please include the state where you live (no full names will be used).
Would you like to sign up to an email alert when a new Moneyist column has been published? If so, click on this link.
Hello there, MarketWatchers. Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues. Readers write in to me with all sorts of dilemmas: inheritance, wills, divorce, tipping, gifting. I often talk to lawyers, accountants, financial advisers and other experts, in addition to offering my own thoughts. I receive more letters than I could ever answer, so I’ll be bringing all of that guidance — including some you might not see in these columns — to this group. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.