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QUITCLAIM to avoid LIEN

Posted on: 16th Jan, 2008 08:28 am
I have a situation with an inherited home that both my sister and I jointly own. The home is completely paid for and has no current mortgages or liens.

My sister elected have no participation in the property and I have since taken over the home and all associated responsibilities. (Property taxes, repairs, improvements etc.)

PROBLEM: My sister is currently experiencing some financial difficulties which may lead her to some legal action through the court system and eventually BANKRUPTCY if things don't improve. Because we are joint owners of the inherited home, we are concerened that the court may attempt to levy an action against the home.

QUESTION: My sister and I want to protect the home so we have discussed doing a QUITCLAIM to relenquish her rights to the home. Will this then pass the title compleetly to me severing all of her interests and ownership of the property. Would this include it being used as one of her possible assets?

Would this protect the property from being subject to a lien due to her financial problems?

FINANAL QUESTION:
Are liens against mortgages rather than properties?

Any help would be appreciated
Hi DarwinSanders,

Welcome to the forum.

See generally if someone quitclaims property just before filing BK, it is considered as a fraudulent act. But in your case you are the joint owner of the property. So I think your sister can quitclaim the property. But better consult with a BK attorney before taking any stapes.

I can't get your final question. Can you elaborate it a bit please.

If you are asking whether lien is attached to mortgages or properties, the answer is liens are attached to properties not on mortgages.

Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Best of luck,
Larry
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2008 10:49 am
A quitclaim deed executed by your sister will relinquish all of her ownership interest in the property. Without an ownership interest, her creditors cannot levy the property.

However, if you do it within 2 years of declaring bankruptcy, or if you have the intent to avoid (known and existing) creditors, the transfer may be fraudulent.
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2008 12:23 pm
Thank you for all of your responses. I would like to propose the following Scenario.

1. To date my sister has never contributed monetarily or otherwise to the property. The property was inherited well over 4 years ago.

A. I have paid all property taxes.
B. I have paid for all property improvements, upgrades and repairs
C. The sum of all of these expenditures is at least equal to her half of the home's original value at the time of our inheritance.

2. To avoid any appearance of a fraudulent procedure on my sister's behalf....

A. Can she and I draw up an agreement that "RIDES ALONG WITH THE QUITCLAIM" (Or separately from the DEED if necessary) whereby she agrees that my monetary contributions to the property are equal to her share in the property? This agreement could state that she agrees that I have PAID her for her share of the property by virtue of the documented payments that I have made on the house.

B. Could this agreement be used to VERIFY that our QUITCLAIM is NOT a "GIFT" but rather verification that her interest in the house has been essentially "BOUGHT OUT" by virtue of my contributions?

C. Could this protect her from the appearance of fraudulence?

Further Information: To date NO judgment has been brought against my sister, nor has she been summonsed. She is required to respond to a legal REQUEST for PAYMENT by a certain date. If she were to fail to comply, an arbitrary action would be taken (could be a demanded for immediate payment. This is unknown). She has retained an attorney to insure that the latter WILL NOT happen.

Any further IDEAS regarding this situation would be helpful. Thanks again
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2008 09:54 am
Good idea. Use a grant deed and list the total amount of her contribution as the consideration for the sale. You may even attach a schedule which lists all the contributions. You may want to keep that separate as it will become public record when you record the deed. Do make one though, for future reference.
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2008 10:24 am
Hi Darwin,

Welcome back.

I think bought her out is a good option.

See, you have spent money for the maintenance and improvement of the property. That is great. But you have not paid anything to her. Right. So you can just pay her and buy her out. Use a grant deed and remove her from the deed.

Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Best of luck,
Larry
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2008 03:30 pm
yes, she can file a quit claim to you. if you want to buy out her portion of the home you can do a refinance to give her half and that way the home is yours.
Posted on: 20th Jan, 2008 02:31 pm
I also wanted to add that they cannot place a lien on the property for any of her debts after it is quit claimed to you because she would no longer have ownership in the property.
Posted on: 20th Jan, 2008 02:32 pm
I have been having financial difficulties for the last few years & have been seriously considering filing for bankruptcy. My father has been helping me by making my mortgage & property tax payments for these same years. Since I have not been able to get back on my feet, and I seem to be getting in deeper, I thought about filing a quit claim on my house to him as repayment for what he has spent. However, I do have one creditor who has already tried to put a lien on my wages and has put one on my house. What can I do?
Posted on: 20th Nov, 2008 05:03 pm
Hi Linda!

As there is a lien on the house, you need to pay off the lien first and get a lien release certificate. In such a situation if you file a quitclaim deed, it may be taken as a fraudulent transfer. As your father is already paying the mortgage dues and the property taxes, you may speak to the lender and check if your father can refinance the loan in his name. If he agrees, then you can sign a quitclaim deed in his name.

In case you need to file a bankruptcy, I think you should go for chapter 13. This helps in re-organizing the debt and you will also be able to save your property. The lender will give you a new repayment plan with which you will be able to pay off the debts within 3-5 years. To know more about chapter 13, check out the link:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/bankruptcy/chapter13.html

Thanks,

Jerry
Posted on: 21st Nov, 2008 01:20 am
My previous employer has just sent initial papers asking for repayment of a sales draw account. I have 28 days to respond. i intend to request paper work proving the debt and I have 30 days to respond after reciept of the paperwork. I intend to dispute the charges, however I am considering protecting my home equity and Quit clamming it to my co owner. will this protect the property from a lien?
Thanks,
jimmie
Posted on: 26th Aug, 2009 09:47 pm
Hi Jimmie!

Welcome to forums!

If you quitclaim the property now to your co-owner, it could be considered as a fraudulent transfer. In my opinion, you should contact your lawyer and take his opinion in this regard. He would be the right person to let you know whether or not you should transfer the property.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane
Posted on: 27th Aug, 2009 11:34 pm
i filled bankruptcy last year, in january i inherited a house from my father,
i was trying to get a loan for home improvement and there is a lien on the property, for something i went bankrupt on, what are me options
Posted on: 12th May, 2010 04:34 pm
Hi angie,

If your bankruptcy has not been discharged, then you won't be able to get a loan now. Also, you should note that after your bankruptcy is discharged, you may have to wait for 2-4 years in order to qualify for a home loan.
Posted on: 12th May, 2010 10:41 pm
i own a small business with my son. we are incorporated in new york state. we ran into financial problems and the corporation did not have any funds to pay the sales tax due. the state closed the business and intends to confiscate all the assets. i don't believe there are enough assets to cover the taxes because the building is not owned by that corporation. i just received notice that i personnally have 5 days to pay up or a tax warrant is being filed against me personally. can i now file a quit claim deed that was drawn up and notorized a year transferring 99% of my interest in our personal residence to my wife. that is the way i always had it before we moved and i just forgot to advise the attorney to make this deed that way.
Posted on: 24th Apr, 2011 08:27 am
Hi chuckie,

Before transferring the primary property to your wife in this situation, I will suggest you to contact a real estate attorney and take his opinion in this matter. He will be able to guide you in a better manner in this regard.
Posted on: 24th Apr, 2011 10:00 pm
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