Adding name to house deed without consent. This reader wants to know if it’s legal for someone to put your name on a deed without your knowledge.
Q: If someone puts your name on a deed without your knowledge, is it legal?
Adding Name to House Deed Without Consent
A: Let’s start with the concept of a gift. If I want to give you a gift, I can buy it and then give it to you. When you accept the gift, you become the owner of the gift.
If a person decides to give a gift of real estate to someone, they can purchase that property and deed it to someone else. But that alone will not be sufficient to transfer title to the property to the recipient. The person receiving the real estate as a gift must do something to accept it.
If someone simply records a document transferring title to a second person, the document would be legal but would not transfer ownership of that title without some form of affirmative acceptance by the person receiving the property.
In most states there are additional documents that are signed by the former owner of and the new owner of the real estate. If there is a purchase, the new owner receives the deed, obtains a mortgage, receives the keys and garage door openers and changes the utilities in the home to their own name.
If there is no form of acceptance, express or implied, the recipient will not have acquired title to the property.
Acceptance of Transfer Is Required
Frequently, people ask whether they can quitclaim their timeshare interests back to the developer. If the developer does not accept the transfer, the owner will still be responsible for all of the costs and expenses associated with the timeshare property.
On the other hand, if you’re asking whether someone can put your name on a deed to try to transfer your ownership in a piece of property, that document would need your signature. If it does not have your signature, it would not transfer your interest.
If the signature is forged, you would still be the owner of the property but would have a mess on your hands trying to prove the illegal transfer, among other issues. For real property to be transferred, generally there must be a document that transfers title from the current owner to the new owner. That document must be signed by all owners of that property.
In some cases, a property can be transferred by court order or other legal mechanisms that would not require the owner to sign the deed. For practical purposes, however, most real estate transfers are undertaken with all of the current owners executing the document that will transfer ownership of real estate from them to a new owner.
More on Topics Related to Deed and Title Matters
Transferring Home Title From Owner to Tenant
Are Transfer on Death (TOD) Deeds Smart?
What Happens to My Taxes When I Use a Quitclaim Deed to Transfer Property?
Can a Deed Be Transferred If There Isn’t a Will?
Quit Claim Deed Vs. Warranty Deed To Transfer Property Ownership From Father to Son
will it be legal to add a son or daughter to a deed without the spousal approval if kid was from a different marriage.
can my x husband quick deed my name on a house i do not want as he is doing it to avoid irs taxes that he owes as i do not want anything to do with this,his house is paid for but is yrying to quick deed it to me AND I DONT WANT IT OR HIS DEBT THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO PROTECT ME OF THIS AS HE COULD FORGE MY NAME,AND I AM DISABLED AND DONT WANT HIS MESS OF OWING THE IRS BOTH PARTIES SHOULD BE THERE BY LAW,AS ALOT OF PEOPLE COULD GET SCREWED BY THIS,AND THEY ARE INNOCENT,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE GET BACK TO ME ON THIS AS I THINK HE IS GOING TO DO IT,HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF HELP PLEASE I AM DISABLED,THERE SHOULD BE A LAW THAT BOTH PARTIES SHOULD BE THERE AND IF NOT,i SHOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT HOME AS THAT IS FRAUD
Yes.
Can my father-law put my name on a sale of his property without my constant?
What do I have to do to put my name on the deed of my house because my husband has paddy way but Ian still paying the mortgage
My exhusbands name was on the deed in 2009 my lawyer pullef it. up on computer his name only and the property taxes are in arrears and i got papers that he wants me to sign my name of the deed thats fraud Where are my documents
Is it legal If someone buys a property and puts your name on the property without asking you if you want your name on the property then rents out the property. Are both the buyer of the property and the person who’s name is on the property legally responsible for the property?
Let me say a single line I’m sure all have heard before, the instances described by all of you allude to a single concept, which is you think the law will protect you, and it won’t, civil and criminal penalties provided for by federal and state laws protect the interests of the tax collections, however the loopholes abound, each time a law is made, it becomes subject to interpretation, thus it is open to scrutiny and furthermore exposes chinks in its so called “armor” this being said, it’s truly only illegal if you get caught, so what if he’s trying to avoid paying taxes, who should have the money more? The government? That’s cute, because they’ll do much more with it to help the rest of us…I’d do it to spite the government, but you gotta insight has been helpful, thank you
My name is Howard Eugene Brownfield. My Ex-Wife Tammy L.Milton Was Tammy Marie Love when I married her in 1991 I think. Anyway about 8 to12 months ago I was turned down for disability at least 3 times and they always sent a letter about fraud and if I WAS LYING it was fraud. I didn’t understand why they sent that fraud stuff to me. About 10 months and 14 months or so I received a second paper with my name and ss number on this Timeshare deeds. The times when I received them may be off but it was sent when I was denied. My ex is a shady person that even when she was doing infidelity I didn’t get a lawyer because I thought she would be civil in the divorce and I was very wrong. Please call me I’ll tell you my SS number on the phone. this is the first part of it and when you call I’ll give you the rest.Thank you please call me.
My father put his name and my sister’s. name on a deed of a house he purchase without her signature, then years later, he removed her name, my father died, now my sister is claiming she owns 50% on the property, Is she right?
H Santos:
That depends. If your father left no heirs except you and your sister, you and she may each own 50% of the property. You’ll have to see what his will says and whether he really did remove her name from the title. An attorney or local title company could help – but finding the will, if he had one, is crucial. Otherwise, state law will take over and divide assets accordingly.
Good luck,
Ilyce
My girl friend just bought a house with her ssi back pay and her mom put her name onto oyr house without our permission so now there two names on the need when the mom never should have been involved. How do we get the deed fixed and her mom is unwilling to take her name off the deed when shes not suposed to be involved.
My sister and I own a free & clear property together in Pennsylvania. She recently passed away and I discovered she had put her part of the property in a Trust and changed the Deed. I had no knowledge of the deed change. In fact, she removed by name and just put my first initial and last name. Her kids are now threatening to force me to sell. Can I challenge the deed change? I have lived here for 20+ years and I have no plans to sell. Thanks.
Bob – you need to see an attorney ASAP also. You have to find your original purchase documents and make sure that you didn’t somehow agree in writing to transfer the property to the trust. If you don’t move quickly to protect your ownership rights, you may find yourself out of luck – and out of a house.
Let me know what happens. I care!
I bought a house in my name only, I found out my x husband to be put his name on my deed. He is not on my mortgage, but after we split I realized when I saw the paperwork his name was on the deed and had a lein pit on it from a 1040. When I saw the paperwork he had put my initials on it with his. I never saw theses papers before. How do I prove I didn’t put him on the deed?
Cheryl,
It sounds as though you’ve been the victim of mortgage fraud. Please call an attorney and talk with them about your legal options. You have to find your original paperwork from when you bought the property to show that his name wasn’t on there, and that you didn’t sign or approve this. You also need to protect your equity so he doesn’t take out a loan against whatever equity is in the property. Good luck.
My daughter put her name on my house without my knowledge. I asked her to remove it. She said she wouldn’t remove it. She is not talking to me and has moved. How do I get her name off the house if I can not locate her?
James, this is fraud. Your Daughter fraudulently put her name onto your property. You’ll need to take action quickly. I suggest you meet with a real estate attorney who can advise you of your rights and legal options. Good luck.