How can I protect my home with 10% equity from a lawsuit if I lose?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How can I protect my home with 10% equity from a lawsuit if I lose?
My grandparents are going to buy a home for my family. They are currently residents of anothr state. The plan is that when we are able to, in the next 5-7 years, we will purchase the home from them. However, they are in the middle of a personal lawsuit. So, how can they protect the house from being taken in the lawsuit if they lose? Would a trust protect the home? Would a judge take a home with only 10% equity or less? And would financing the home with an in-state bank protect them?
Asked on September 19, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Illinois
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If the home that you will be buying from your grandparents is transferred into your name via a legitimate buy sell transaction where a purchase agreement has been signed by you and your grandparents and title is transferred through an established formal escrow, you will not lose the home.
What you need to do with respect to the delayed transfer of title to the home to you is to consult with a real estate attorney about preparing an notice of a buy/sell agreement (option to buy) have such signed by your grandparents before a notary and have such recorded with the county recorder's office as to the home. In the interim your grandparents could gift you certain percentages of the home over time before the purchase contract is exercised.
Given the complexity of the situation you are writing about you and your grandparents should consult with a real estate attorney to assist you in your endeavor.
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.