Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

can mother give daughter 2 acres of land after she had already give brothers deeds to 40 acres of land to split up


Asked on 7/30/15, 12:12 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

A mother (or property owner) can generally give her property to anyone she wants.

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Answered on 7/30/15, 12:18 pm

I am not sure what you are asking. If mother owns 42 or more acres of land and deeded 40 acres to brothers then she can deed the remaining 2 acres to daughter or anyone else if mother wishes. But from your post it sounds like mother is trying to deed daughter 2 of the 40 acres she previously gave away to brothers. In that case, you cannot deed something to someone and then later change your mind.

However, no attorney here has seen the deeds to the land and what mother has or has not done. I suggest that mother go and find herself a real estate attorney to review the deeds. Of course, there are some other considerations here. How old is mother? Will mother be needing to go into a nursing home at any time in the next 5 years? I know you cannot see the future, but if mother is in robust health or ailing and frail it will give you a clue. If mother does have to go into a nursing home, how will it be paid for?

What is the value of the land being given? Mother can make gifts up to $13,000 to any one person in one calendar year. Anything over that may be subject to the gift tax which would be paid by mother. Mother can make gifts up to $1 million over her lifetime. I am not a tax attorney and mother would also have to discuss tax ramifications as well as potential medicaid issues.

A final factor for consideration is will mother have any property left? Where is her home located? If her home is on the 2 acres deeded to daughter, then mother may want to retain a life estate in the home so that daughter cannot kick out mother if some dispute arises.

If mother does not have a will or a recent will, I suggest that mother see an elder law/estate planning attorney who can review mother's assets and estate and see whether a conveyance of land to daughter now would be best or not.

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Answered on 7/31/15, 1:27 am


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