Summary: This person wants to use their Power of Attorney to execute a quit claim deed and gain ownership of their mother's home to avoid the home being used to pay for nursing care. The government can trace transactions such as a quit claim and this one could be seen as fraud. A real estate attorney can help figure out if there is a way to structure the transaction to help the mother pay for her nursing care.
Q: My mother is an 86-year old widow. I have power of attorney over her financial matters.
I need to execute a quit claim deed to her property so if she goes into a nursing home they cannot take her property.
She does not understand why I want to do this and is paranoid about signing the papers. I only want to make sure I get the house, as she wishes, when she dies. She doesn't seem to understand that if she keeps her house, it will be sold and used to pay her nursing home bills.
Will a notary accept me signing for her if I show them power of attorney?
A: I'm concerned about your motives. It sounds as though you want to shelter your mother's assets so that you'll inherit them intact. The problem I have with that is that the house is your mother's and its value is for her health and welfare -- not yours.
But to your question: Even if your mother did use a quitclaim deed to sign over her property to you, the government can go back a number of years and claim that the sale to you was done solely to avoid using the proceeds of the property to pay for nursing home care and force you to pay back the funds to pay for the medical expenses.
The government considers this fraud and can prosecute you.
What you should do is to seek the advice of a competent estate attorney who can assist you in figuring out if there is a way for you to structure the transaction that not only avoids taxes (deeding the property to you could trigger a gift event that would necessitate filing certain forms with the IRS) but can accomplish the goal that you and your mother seek.
If your mother really wants to do this. It sounds as though you have power of attorney for financial matters, but she is unwilling to follow the course you are suggesting.
A word of warning: If your use your power of attorney to do execute a quit claim deed against her wishes (even if you think she is paranoid), there could be legal ramifications.
For more details, consult with an estate attorney.
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Comments
mondrian says
i have the power of attorney over my mother,s affairs. After trying to negociate a dispute resolution hearing, with the HOA, i have been unsuccessull. now the hoa has filed a date of tustee sale. Ther are accuaintences who are tuying to get me to sighin a quit clain deed om my mother,s behalf, have the property turned over to me, and file for bankruptcy. this does not sound very kosher please help