Video Summary
If I put my children on my deed, can they force me to sell my house? The answer is yes, because you make them a co-owner of the property, they can file an action called a partition action where they sue and asset. A third party called a special magistrate is appointed, and the special magistrate can then list and sell the property for and divide up the proceeds pursuant to the share of the party’s interest in the property. There are other problems in adding your children to the deed, such as when it’s sold, they don’t get a step up on a basis. You may lose a portion of your homestead exemption. It may be a problem also if you have to qualify for Medicaid. I suggest that if you are going to do this for the purpose of estate planning to avoid probate and to put your children on the deed, it is that you sign what they call a lady bird deed or an enhanced life estate deed, and that’s where you convey to them the property. However, you reserve all the rights of ownership during your lifetime, as well as the right to sell the property, keep all the proceeds, or even change who receives the property during your lifetime. You reserve all those rights. And so I’ve been using these type deeds for many years and they work very well, but you do not want to add your children to your homestead property or to the house, to your property because they can force the sale and has other adverse consequences for both you and them. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.