Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
living rights
my husband is a contractor and we are building my grandparents a new house. they are only going to pay for a little less than half of it and we are going to pay for the rest. I have heard of living rights where we would own all of the house and there would just be some kind of contract they would sign so they will be able to live there until their death or being put into a nursing home permanetly. we figured maybe this would protect them so medical expense would never cause them to lose it. can this be done and if so what are my first steps?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: living rights
What you are talking about is a "life estate." It is very complicated, and will not shield the property from medicaid re-imbursement. The best thing to do is own the property outright and let your grandparents live there for the rest of their lives.
Re: living rights
What you are referring to is granting the grandparents a "life estate" via a deed. This may not, in my opinion, shield them from future governmental claims. Seemingly, the best thing to do is keep the real property in your name(s) and let the grandparents live there. May I suggest that the REAL issue here is what will happen to YOU when you get to be Grandma and Grandpa's age? Perhaps you should consider a family trust. You may call me (I office in Roselle) or contact a legal practitioner who does estate planning. Good luck, and Merry Christmas.
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