If I could be going into resthome in near future, can I sell my property to my kids now to protect it?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If I could be going into resthome in near future, can I sell my property to my kids now to protect it?

I have a will but my property is not deeded to them.

Asked on July 4, 2019 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 4 years ago | Contributor

If you sell to them for fair market value, or a price that comparable homes sell for, your home will be protected. This does not have to be the best price you can get, but must be a reasonable one. Example: when we sold our home, 5 homes on our street, also similar sized, were on the market at the same time. They went for between $480k and $530k; therefore the fair market value would be in that range, and sale for that lowest price ($480k) would still be fair market value. You could even knock a bit more off the price for it being a private "as is" sale with no realtor and no contingencies: to build on the example above, that might make a fair price around $450k. But lower than that, in my example, would not be fair market value.
If you sell the house to your chidren for less than fair market value, then Medicaid or the state agency administering it could seek to "void" or undo the sale so that it could force the sale of the house to pay for (or repay) your care. The law does not let you hide or protect assets from Medicaid by selling it to family for less than fair market value while forcing the taxpayers to pay for your care. So to protect the house, it must be sold for fair maket value, even if it's for the low-end of fair market value and includes some reasonable and defensible discount for a sale by owner and no contingencies.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption