How do I put my husbands' name on my mortgage free

[hurricanegirl]

house

Now that I have paid my mortgage and gotten my "discharge" I want to list my husband as co-owner, (so that IF I reverse mortgage and I die first, he is not homeless). Please note I said "IF" I reverse mortgage.................

I really just wnat to make him a co owner

Anyone I call says "get a lawyer"

This should be a simple "do", lawyer not required.

Who can help me ?

This should require a form, and then a recording, simple no?

[Abby Normal]

You would want to add him to the title, not the mortgage. I would call the county clerk's office and ask. I would think it would be a small fee and a few easy hoops.

[Peace Of Mind]

I would quit claim deed half the ownership to him. That would be the easiest and cheapest way that I can think of.

ETA: Here is some info. on what you need to do and the second link has some forms for a few states for you to look at. Personally - I would want a real estate lawyer to help me.


www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-quit-claim-deed.htm
www.mortgagefit.com/quitclaim/deed-newname.html

[swamp]

You need to deed the house from you to you and your husband. Get a lawyer, because inaddition to the deed, there are other forms that need to be filed wiht the deed. I don't know if you live in a LCOL or HCOL area, but I charge about $300 for a deed transfer without title work. The recording costs (which are set by the county and the state) are about $250. I live in a LCOL area of NYS.

[phil5185]

There are also 'gifting' forms, when you gift a half a house to someone you must claim the gift. The County Recorder can't just 'add his name' to the deed, you are making a legal transfer of property.

[Deleted]

I sort of understand where you are coming from, but . . .

Do you think a reverse mortgage is LIKELY? A couple of companies have stopped doing them. With the uncertainty of home values, expect that to be more companies.

My house (mortgage right now but eventually deed) is in MY name because I bought it before I got married. My DH and I have only been married two years, but we have a "what's mine is mine" verbal agreement should we get divorced. I know a lawyer would hate that, but we are really the kind of people who would honor that. (I had a friendly prior divorce where we figured it all out ourselves. It CAN work.)

I don't want my DH to be homeless either. Right now I have him on an insurance policy that would let him pay it off. Once I do get rid of the mortgage, my will should be sufficient to have title pass to him. Believe me, my estate is not going to be so large that we should be trying to avoid taxes.

So if all I was worried about was the possibility of doing a reverse mortgage, I would quit worrying about it. I'm not a lawyer, but if you had to divorce so that he got Medicaid to cover his nursing home, I suspect you'd fare better in that divorce if the house was in your name. But I don't know all the ins and outs of that situation. I'm just not going to "gift" half my house away.

[swamp]

Jul 11, 2011 18:05:41 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

There are also 'gifting' forms, when you gift a half a house to someone you must claim the gift. The County Recorder can't just 'add his name' to the deed, you are making a legal transfer of property.

Transfers between spouses are exempt from gift tax.

[Deleted]

You might also want to look into the difference between what you yourself would get on a reverse mortgage and what you and your husband would get. Naturally the joint amount would be smaller, because the company doesn't get paid till both of you move out or die, not just one of you. You may decide to do something else to protect him in the event of your death.

[hurricanegirl]

great response from all of you, thanks

Aethena 53 - like what please if you would be so kind?

Southernsusana - I once asked (on this board) about a "financial" divorce and got dissed so bad you would not believe. Where were you when I needed you???

[zibazinski]

I would get a quit claim and then keep it where it could be accessed by him in the event of your death.

[blackcard]

Swamp to the rescue Nice to see the steps needed and approximate costs included. Karma 4 U

[tallguy]

I would be very wary of the idea of adding a spouse's name to the title. First, you are putting an awful lot of faith into both the future of the marriage and the reasonableness of a spouse in that potential situation. (Not to suggest that there may either now or ever be a potential divorce, but speaking merely as a sort of "Devil's Advocate.")

In addition, there are other perfectly good reasons to NOT add a second name to the title. First, (and you would have to check your state's rules on this) it may affect whether you could qualify in the future for a property tax exemption as a senior citizen below a certain income level. More importantly, I would think, if you happen to pass first your husband would receive a stepped-up basis on the property in case he needed to sell. If you add him now, then his basis is the same as yours and it may cost him a small fortune in taxes on the future sale. I am not an expert on real estate, but I believe I am correct. If anyone can either confirm or correct my information I would appreciate it.

[Deleted]

Jul 12, 2011 16:18:05 GMT -5 hurricanegirl said:

Athena 53 - like what please if you would be so kind?

When a reverse mortgage company agrees to pay you $X per month till you leave the house (either death or enter a nursing home), they base it on how long they expect you to live. If that calculation is based on two people (they pay as long as one or both of you occupy the house), they will expect to be paying for a longer time so they'll offer you something less than $X per month. How much less depends on your relative ages. If he's 20 years older than you the difference may not be much. If he's 20 years younger than you it may be a lot!

[Deleted]

Jul 12, 2011 16:21:54 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I would get a quit claim and then keep it where it could be accessed by him in the event of your death.

In order to be legal, a deed has to be recorded (taken to the County Recorder's office and out into the records). The OP can't just sign a deed to him now and let him hide it till it's to his advantage to take it out. I hope the lawyers here will confirm this.