Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
life estate
How does a parent give chile a life estate in home?
Mother wants the daughter that is giving her time as caregiver/provider for the mother, to have home of the mother after death, not to have to sell the home or have any other relative take possession. Giving the daughter the right to live in the house and take care of the property until she is ready to leave the property. The house and lot will be sold and monies will be divided between heirs after the daughter decides to move to another location.
I hope you understand what I am asking?
Thank you in advance for you help with this matter.
EEM
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: life estate
There are several ways to do this, but you should have your attorney do this for you, as it's easy to mess up. Basically, the objective is to give the daughter a "life estate" in the property. This is a grant of rights that lasts for the duration of the daughter's life. Upon the death of the daughter, the "remainderman" will receive the property. The most common is to make an appropriate provision in the will for the daughter indicating such. Alternatively, the mother can execute life estate deed which would immediately tranfer such rights to the daughter. You need to employ careful planning, as the life estate beneficiary will be responsible for certain taxes, upkeep and costs of the property.
Re: life estate
As David Leon said, you need to see a lawyer since this is something that's very easy to mess up. As an example, if the daughter has a life estate, it may be tricky to get her to deed over that estate so the property can be sold while she's still alive.
This is not a do-it-yourself project.
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