FAMILY REAL ESTATE ARTICLES
When you might need court approval to sell your home
Question: When my husband and I divorced two years ago, I was awarded our Surprise home. Although I knew I should have seen a lawyer, I quickly recorded a deed to our twin boys because, if I died, I did not want my ex-husband to be able to sell the ‘family’ home. I am now remarrying, and we are all moving to Ahwatukee. I want to sell the Surprise home but the twin boys are still only 16 years old. My real estate agent says that I have to get court approval of any sale of the Surprise home. If I…
Do You Still Owe Your Broker If You Find the Buyer?
Question: Last month, we signed a six-month listing agreement with a real estate broker to sell our Fountain Hills home. When our son found out that we were selling our home, he immediately said he would buy it. He now has the financing for the purchase, and he doesn’t want to do an inspection because he trusts us. When we told our real estate broker the good news that now we didn’t need him to sell the home, he said we still owed him the 5% commission in the listing agreement. How can we owe this 5% commission when our real…
Eviction Due To Mental Illness
Question: In a recent Q and A you discussed a troubled young man acting strange by moaning and dancing by himself at a swimming pool in a Tempe apartment complex. His parents immediately went over there and calmed the situation before the police arrived. The parents were afraid that their son would be evicted, and that he would not be able to rent another apartment because of the eviction. You should have told the parents that under Arizona law there are ways to get an eviction sealed by the Court so that there is no way for a potential landlord…
IRS Has the Right to Prosecute and Imprison a Taxpayer Who Doesn’t Pay Taxes
Question: After my father died eight years ago, my mother has tried to manage their three Gilbert rental homes. We live in Portland, but we come to Gilbert to see my mother 3-4 times a year, and try to help out with management of their three Gilbert rental homes. Until recently we didn’t realize, however, that my mother has not been paying any of her taxes, e.g., nasty letters from the IRS. On TV we see ads that the IRS, if taxes aren’t paid, can “seize” the taxpayer’s assets, or even put a taxpayer in jail. Could my mother go…
Partition Sale of Home Inherited by Three Sisters
Question: My two sisters and I inherited our parents’ Carefree home three months ago, and we have been arguing constantly. One of my sisters wants to live in the home at reduced rent, and my other sister wants to rent the home to a tenant at full rental value because she needs the money. I want to sell the home, as my husband and I are retiring and moving to Mexico. Help! Answer: You should hire an attorney to file a partition lawsuit, which is no-fault like a divorce. In other words, even if only one spouse wants a divorce,…
Beneficiary Deed Can Be Challenged If Undue Influence
Question: For the last twenty years my mother has lived in a nice home in the Tatum Ranch community in North Phoenix. We live in Flagstaff, but have come down regularly to visit my mother. My sister lives in Tucson but rarely has visited my mother. My mother was in relatively good health at 91 years of age. Two weeks ago, however, she unexpectedly passed away. My mother’s only asset was her “free and clear” Tatum Ranch home worth $780,000. At a meeting with my sister yesterday, my sister produced a beneficiary deed recorded a month ago from my mother…
Partition Lawsuit Required If Brother and Sister Can’t Agree on Who Inherits Home
Question: My mother owned a home in the Red Mountain area of Mesa for more than 20 years. She recently passed away. Before she passed away she recorded a beneficiary deed 50/50 for her home, to me and to my sister who lives in Oregon. The home is worth $850,000. My sister needs money so she wants to sell the home as soon as possible. My home is only two miles away from my mother’s home and I want to rent my mother’s home for rental income for both me and my sister. I told my sister that I will…
Beneficiary Deed Can Only be Used by a Natural Person
Question: My mother is the trustee of her revocable living trust (“RLT”), with me as the sole beneficiary. The only asset in the RLT is my mother’s Sun City home. My mother wants to simplify things and record a beneficiary deed to me for her home, which beneficiary deed will not be effective until her death. Can my mother, as the trustee of her RLT, execute a beneficiary deed to me? Answer: No. The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that a beneficiary deed is only valid upon the death of a “natural person” who owned the real property. 238…
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