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concerned12345 Asked July 2018

My mother signed over her house to my sister in exchange for in-home care, but now my sister is kicking her out of her own home. Can Mom get her house back?

She made a verbal agreement with her to live there and take care of her. She has not done anything to help, been very verbally abusive, and now her and her new boyfriend want to evict her. My mom has made all the payments for the last 20 years. Neither of them have ever even worked more than a side job under the table. Can she get her house back?

Manwithmorals Jul 2018
When you attend law school, one of the first things that they teach you is Real estate and the law says you can not sell a property or transfer or exchange or make dealings of any kind related to Real estate through a verbal agreement, it doesn't hold or apply and there is no legal binding on that whatsoever. You need to contact the local authorities and report this to agency like the APS asap for further assistance. If there's any legal document or paperwork signed over, you may want to speak with an attorney specialize in elder law, regarding financial abuse and exploitation of undue influence. (depending on the state you live in, i.e. like N.Y. their state laws don't recognize the term and they don't allow any claims of undue influence or push for prosecution) Best of luck!

pamzimmrrt Jul 2018
I got the impression that the sister made the verbal agreement to take care of Mom, and that mom did indeed legally sign the house over to sis. We need more information here!

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GardenArtist Jul 2018
JoAnn, I'm so glad you posted the issue about the verbal agreement! I misread the OP's post and thought there was a deed, based on the title "she signed over her house...".

Concerned, we need to know - was there a deed that was recorded, or was this entire "transaction" verbal only?

I don't know about the state in which the OP's mother lives, but verbal agreements aren't binding in some states.

JoAnn29 Jul 2018
If this was all done verbally, no paperwork was signed, then Mom still owns her house. Your sister is not doing her part of the agreement so the agreement is null and void, I would think. If there is paperwork hopefully it reads sister gets the home as long as she cares for Mom. She is not caring for Mom, agreement null and void. Is Moms name still on the deed. If so, its her house.

GardenArtist Jul 2018
Did she quit claim or use a warranty deed to convey the property?

I think though that this is a question for an attorney with real estate background, or an elder law attorney with that same background.

Presumably your mother conveyed title based on certain representations and assumptions (care for her by the daughter) which weren't carried out. That might be interpreted as "consideration" in lieu of money. There might be an breach of that consideration.

But that's speculative and would need to be addressed by an attorney skilled in that area.

Is there any documentation that accompanied this transaction? Any caregiver agreement? Anything in writing besides the Quit Claim Deed (I assume your mother didn't execute a Warranty Deed).

Are any payments being made on the house now?

There's another issue beyond the misrepresentation and that's elder abuse. I would contact APS or the local police (and possibly an elder law attorney as well) to determine if they can offer advice.

It might be possible to get a temporary injunction (TRO - temporary restraining order) preventing the daughter and BF from evicting your mother.

That behavior is disgusting and disgraceful.

And if the daughter isn't making payments, the house will soon be subject to foreclosure, so she'll lose it.

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