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Genealgal1 Asked November 2012

Can Mom "buy me out" of co-owned house?

Can my mother "buy me out" of shared assets? I'm asking about our co-owned house, but we also put both our names on both car titles. We co-own some livestock (no titles, but plenty of bills). I'm thinking it would be similar to married couples getting a divorce and dividing assets. We would use an atty and realtor to create a legit paper trail. Even if it's possible to transfer the house to me later (2 yrs of caretaking rule), I can't afford it and would have to sell anyway. If she owned the house outright, I could save my credit rating if she needed to just walk away due to a NH move. There may not be much equity, if any. We're having a hard time getting comps in this market. Most in the area have big house on land, or little house on small lot. We have little house on land and those aren't selling. I know she can't gift assets, but what about buying them? We don't know how many years we're looking at here, but it could hit the 5 yr lookback period. Nobody knows. Lot's of discussion about losing a shared house, but I'm not seeing anybody who sold their interest to legally transfer money. What am I missing?

Genealgal1 Nov 2012
We've been to two elder law attys. They will say what not to do IF I ask the right question. Problem is, I didn't think to ask this question. I can't afford it every time I wonder about possible alternatives to a previous question after I leave the office. Advice was good, but generic: Get documents in order, don't do anything that looks like a gift, separate the money. Best advice though was don't transfer title on the house until AFTER already enrolled in Medicaid because mix-ups and red tape can cause trouble. At the time that seemed like the way to go. I don't think I'm going to be able to hang in there that long.

notrydoyoda Nov 2012
It sounds to me like you already need an elder atty. to see what you can and cannot do.

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