Making Changes To Home's Title

Q: My parents wish to add and remove some names from some of there property title.
 

I believe you do this with a quick claim deed. If so can you recommend someone who is competent to take care of the entire process and for a marginal fee? Thank you.

A: My question to you is why do your parents want to add and remove some names from the title to the house? And what do they hope to gain by doing this?

If they add you to title, for example, the IRS could look at that as a gift. A gift return would need to be filed the next time you file your taxes (even if gift taxes aren't owed) and this could cause problems down the line with their estate.

While each of your parents could give you $11,000 per year as a gift tax-free (for a total of $22,000 or $44,000 for you and your spouse), any amount above that must be reported to the IRS.

If your parents are hoping to avoid a problem with their estate, you’ll probably want to speak to an estate attorney or estate planner. There are other ways to get real estate out of an estate, or to bypass probate that will work better than simply quit claiming the property from one heir to another. Trusts are often used to pass down ownership without setting off alarm bells at the IRS.

To add or remove people from title, you can use something called a “Quit Claim” deed. The people being removed from title would quit claim their ownership interest in the property to someone else. If they're unhappy being removed from title, they could simply refuse to sign the papers.

Once they're signed and notarized, you need to file the documents with the recorder of deeds.

Unfortunately, the column policy is not to recommend professionals to readers. However, you can probably do this yourself. You'll need to find a notary to witness the signatures. Then, you'll have to visit the recorder of deeds, pay a fee and process the paperwork.

If you have other questions, or wish to have a professional assist you, you should find an excellent real estate attorney.

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