Transferring Home To Children When There Is Mortgage Trouble: What To Do With The Family Farm

Added October 1, 2009 by Ilyce R. Glink

Print Articles

Summary: Transferring Home To Children When There Is Mortgage Trouble: What To Do With The Family Farm
A son works the family farm. Now his father is in mortgage trouble on another property. The son wants to know about transferring the home to himself now to avoid the loss of the family farm. He has worked the family farm for some time and his father's will intends on transferring the home to him upon his death.

Transferring Home To Children When There Is Mortgage Trouble: What To Do With The Family Farm

Q: My father owns an old family farm that he has willed to me. The will states at his passing the property comes to me instead of my mother or other family. It is a working farm that he and I have operated together. His health is failing.

Several years ago he co-signed a mortgage with another family member on that person’s home and that individual has mismanaged her finances. The home has been at the point of foreclosure.

Our concern is that the family farm might have to be sold to cover this co-signed note even after my father's passing, since his estate would be obligated for the mortgage.

Is there a way to transfer ownership of the farm while my father is still living to get it out of his name and out of his estate so that it is protected from this co-signed obligation?

A: It's unfortunate that your father is having financial issues stemming from a bad decision that he made to co-sign a mortgage. In theory, if that other property is foreclosed, that lender can go after your father for the debt that is still owed and ultimately, the family farm may be at risk.

Your father should discuss this issue with an estate or tax attorney. The estate attorney might recommend that your father put the family farm in an irrevocable trust that names you as the beneficiary. The estate attorney might also have other suggestions for you on how you should proceed. As a working farm that you continue to operate on a day-to-day basis, you might have a right to claim some form of ownership to some of the farm. But your father might have to agree that your work on the farm entitles you now to some ownership right to the farm, not just as an inheritance.

You should approach this issue legally, so that you understand the full ramifications of what your father and his estate are facing. If the other family member is going through financial problems and has failed to make the monthly mortgage payments, you father’s credit history will be damaged.

While your father’s credit history and credit score may be of a lesser importance to him now, the fate of his family farm is important. While he can’t just get rid of his family farm to avoid paying creditors, he can have a constructive conversation with an estate planning attorney to determine how to protect his family farm and structure a transaction that can properly transfer title of his farm to you and satisfy his estate planning wishes.

Estate Planning To Avoid The Gift Tax Dilema

Estate Planning, Inheritance, And Lowering Taxes

Quit Claim Deed Vs. Warranty Deed To Transfer Property Ownership From Father to Son

Second Marriage Financial Issues Include House Deed

Transferring Assets To Children

If you'd like to help us out, you can contribute to our site and keep the site free of charge. Thanks.

© Ilyce R. Glink. All rights reserved. This content may not be used, distributed, syndicated, compiled or excerpted in any medium or form without written authorization from Think Glink, Inc. For information on syndicating ThinkGlink.com please contact us.

Previous article Next article