Legal Question in Elder Law in Illinois

My name has been on mothers house for 15 yrs. She is now in assisted living and I am POA. Can I do anything trust-wise to protect against tax if I sell now. The house is vacant. House was purch in 1962 $24000. Dad died in '99.


Asked on 12/11/10, 4:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Whoa! This seems complicated. And what taxes are you talking about?!

1. We need a better sense of chain of title: who owned the house 16 years ago (1995 or so)? Was it mom and dad?

2. When you came on title, was it the 3 of you, or just you and mom? What happened to dad?

3. When dad passed in 1999, what if any interest in the house passed through him -- and to whom? And was there any tax due then?

4. Today, if you and mom own the house and she passes away, are you the sole heir? Are you joint tenant, co-tenant or what?

5. If she is in assisted living and still has her name on the house, is there any chance she will wind up on public assistance? Because then it's not just a matter of tax on the house; instead her entire interest may be subject to levy by the government if public funds support her. And even if you got her to convey today, they can come back at you if she needs funds within 5 years.

Time to take the entire situation to a real estate/probate/tax attorney to sort through. And on that note, so it was $24K in 1962. What was it worth in 1995 when you came on title, in 1999 when dad passed, and today.

Sorry - no simple answers yet.

The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of Illinois. Responses are based solely on Illinois law unless stated otherwise.

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Answered on 12/16/10, 6:43 pm


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