Asking for a friend: House left in wives name

[STerasedU]

My friend lives with his wife and kids in her parents house, they live on the other side of the house. Well her parents are getting older and the put the house in my friends wives name ONLY?? Is this common just to leave the house in there daughters name and not the husband (my friend)??

[GUMMO77]

How many wives does he have?

[STerasedU]

How many wives does he have?

HuH? haha just 1

[STerasedU]

Its her parents house and the put it in just her name? Is that normal or do people usually put it in both names?

[toga toga]

Yes. Depending on the state, if they were to divorce, it is her house. I am assuming it has no mortgage.

[STerasedU]

Yes. Depending on the state, if they were to divorce, it is her house. I am assuming it has no mortgage.

NY... Yeah but is it normal for parents just to put it in their daughters name and not her husbands?? Not sure on the mortage, if it does its small.

[Microbetter]

they are looking out for their daughter. by putting it in her name only, daughter is protected in case of divorce. This is wise and generous gesture.

[Optional]

Does it matter if it is not in both names?

Legal wise.

If they divorce it's still half each isn't it?

[USCPHILLYGUY]

Not sure about NY but since their married it’s assets gained during the marriage so wouldn’t think it matter either way

[STerasedU]

they are looking out for their daughter. by putting it in her name only, daughter is protected in case of divorce. This is wise and generous gesture.

Do most people just put it in their child's name or their child's name and their spouse??

[big joe 1212]

As far as property taxes, only the wife is on the hook. But obviously the tax deduction would be taken on the joint return. If they file separately, only the wife can claim the deduction.

If they get divorced, then the husband is entitled to half. Assuming he fights for it. Unless there is a prenup.

Its pretty normal for parents to put it in their kids name only. It’s not that big of a deal.

[d2bets]

Yes. Why should they gift to son-in-law.

But wife needs to make sure she does some estate planning (trust and/or will).

[TheGoldenGoose]

[Microbetter]

Do most people just put it in their child's name or their child's name and their spouse??

child's name only. In case of divorce the house may be considered a gift and not joint asset that hubby is entitled to half. It depends on the state they live in. Another thing to consider is whether there was a prenup signed. These are just a few possibilities. Bottom line is parents are looking after their daughter's best interests.

[dbartinbwgc]

If given to one party while or before they are married, as long as they were married at one
point during them owning it, it is a joint asset.
Real estate is the only asset that has this separate rule, unless there is a prenup.
But if it was given to her after they are married it is joint asset.

[Fire in da hole]

Guy comes to SBR to get fkn legal advise

Correct answer to your question:

YES, its common, why? Because in NY and most other community property states inherited property is exempt from equitable distribution regardless of whether or not it was obtained during marriage.

If I die, I want my property to stay with my kids not go to her ex-husband.

[MinnesotaFats]

It's a marital asset

The title of the house means nothing- your friend has a joint interest in the equity in the event of divorce

[Fire in da hole]

It's a marital asset

The title of the house means nothing- your friend has a joint interest in the equity in the event of divorce

Inherited property is not a marital asset in NY nor is it in most states

[Optional]

Sounds like the root of the issue is your friend let his father-in-law be the man of the house in his family home.

And now he feels like he isn't being treated as the man.

I bet it made his life a lot easier along the way though.

[Fire in da hole]

Sounds like the root of the issue is your friend let his father-in-law be the man of the house in his family home.

And now he feels like he isn't being treated as the man.

I bet it made his life a lot easier along the way though.

The root of the issue is his “friend” couldn’t afford to provide for his family and has to mooch off her parents. Who the fk moves his wife in kids to a in-law suite or house attached to their parents?

[mrpapageorgio]

Inherited property is not a marital asset in NY nor is it in most states

Idk if it matters in NY, but it's technically not an inheritance. It's technically a gift since the parents are still alive according to the OP and simply deeded their interest in the house to the daughter.

Edit: Just looked it up, looks like gifts are treated the same as an inheritance.

https://www.nydivlaw.com/lawyer/2017/12/08/Equitable-Distribution/What-is-Considered-Marital-Property-in-New-York_bl32532.htm

But to answer your question OP, there's no "what is normal?" because it varies on the preference of the property owner(s). No two experiences are going to be the same because no two people are required to treat how they gift their property the same.

Yes it's normal if they are trying to protect their child (or grandkids) from an in-law they dislike for one reason or another. I've seen plenty of families where the son/daughter may "love" their spouse (FWIW), but the parents may disapprove of them and would hate for the in-law to receive any part of their property after death.

I knew of a guy who set up a living trust for the benefit of his son and grandson with a bunch of strings attached to keep it from going to his son's baby mama (the grandson's mom) who he basically views as a gold digger. Son and baby mama were never married, but the grandfather doesn't want her trying to get at the trust fund by arguing for additional child support from the son if grandpa were to die while son is still paying support and basically using the money to (as Kanye said) get lipo when it should be spent on the kid.

[dbartinbwgc]

Guy comes to SBR to get fkn legal advise

Correct answer to your question:

YES, its common, why? Because in NY and most other community property states inherited property is exempt from equitable distribution regardless of whether or not it was obtained during marriage.

If I die, I want my property to stay with my kids not go to her ex-husband.

Death and divorce is two different things, you can will your property or assets to anyone.
But divorce if they give or will it to her and she receives it during marriage its a asset.
With all other assets but real estate that might be the case but there are special rules just for real estate.
Just had a friend go through something like this, while married she bought a house, for her kids, in her name and mortgage. It went into foreclosure they went after both husband and wife due to the special handling
of Real Estate in marriage

[Fire in da hole]

Death and divorce is two different things, you can will your property or assets to anyone.
But divorce if they give or will it to her and she receives it during marriage its a asset.
With all other assets but real estate that might be the case but there are special rules just for real estate.
Just had a friend go through something like this, while married she bought a house, for her kids, in her name and mortgage. It went into foreclosure they went after both husband and wife due to the special handling
of Real Estate in marriage

Gift, death etc IT DOESNT MATTER....

its NOT marital property in most states, but his question was NY

do a quick 2 second google search and you will see I’m correct

[MinnesotaFats]

It's a marital asset- subject to a judges discretion of equitable division.

It's not "separate" property that would be exempt nor is it in a trust. Pre 1970s if she was sole title holder that's all that would matter.

Your friends wife would not be able to mortgage that property without his consent and my guess is if she did private financing again it they'd be jointly liable regardless.

Your friends in-laws are trying to skirt the law and protect the misses. They will fukk everything up as most in laws do. I assume there was a deed tax of some form paid which would help to determine if there is a 'bona fide purchase of RE' or if it was gifted, and if so I assume a tax liability exists on that gift.

Bottom line- if things go south your friend can stake a claim and yes, he will get something out of it....via settlement or judges decree. It is not solely hers, with no contest.

[mrpapageorgio]

Death and divorce is two different things, you can will your property or assets to anyone.
But divorce if they give or will it to her and she receives it during marriage its a asset.
With all other assets but real estate that might be the case but there are special rules just for real estate.
Just had a friend go through something like this, while married she bought a house, for her kids, in her name and mortgage. It went into foreclosure they went after both husband and wife due to the special handling
of Real Estate in marriage

It's a marital asset- subject to a judges discretion of equitable division.
It's not "separate" property that would be exempt nor is it in a trust. Pre 1970s if she was sole title holder that's all that would matter.
Your friends wife would not be able to mortgage that property without his consent and my guess is if she did private financing again it they'd be jointly liable regardless.
Your friends in-laws are trying to skirt the law and protect the misses. They will fukk everything up as most in laws do. I assume there was a deed tax of some form paid which would help to determine if there is a 'bona fide purchase of RE' or if it was gifted, and if so I assume a tax liability exists on that gift.
Bottom line- if things go south your friend can stake a claim and yes, he will get something out of it....via settlement or judges decree. It is not solely hers, with no contest.

Fire is right, in NY, the house is separate property unless they bought it together or used marital funds to buy it.

https://www.nydivlaw.com/lawyer/2017/12/08/Equitable-Distribution/What-is-Considered-Marital-Property-in-New-York_bl32532.htm

This is a NY law firm's blog on it from December 2017, so I doubt they would post that if the law was going to change next month into 2018.

[Auto Donk]

My friend lives with his wife and kids in her parents house, they live on the other side of the house. Well her parents are getting older and the put the house in my friends wives name ONLY?? Is this common just to leave the house in there daughters name and not the husband (my friend)??

very common, as they don't wan't him getting his hands on it should there be a divorce down the road....

in all likelihood they are just lookin' out for their daughter....

depending on the state they are in, even after it is put only in her name, certain rights might arise if he pays the mortgage or pays for improvements.....

but, in general, not putting it in both of their names signals they don't want him having any rights to it in the event of the big D

[MinnesotaFats]

The assumption of a gift is that it is for the benefit of the couple.

Absent a specific designation or use (ie a handicap vehicle for a disabled spouse or a piece of real estate used in the operation of a business run by a spouse) there is a burden on the party looking to prove 'seperate'

It is on the moving party to procure both a specific legal instrument showing this is exclusively for one spouse for their private use, and to never commingle any common property or monies to maintain or pay or use on the property.

To say that the guys friend is just left hanging in the wind empty handed is just reckless by the board here. The husband in this case would assert a claim for 50% of the equity in the property and go to court with evidence of shared enjoyment, shared expenses and no specific use by the wife for a business or personal nature.

The wife would have to argue that the gift was NOT for both parties to use or that it had some specifice value to her alone. The judge would be compelled to award the husband his fair share of the equity based on what has been described here.

The law firms blog is for broad strokes, primarily inheritance or succession of business assets I'm assuming. You can't skirt the law, the civil union, or estate tax or deed tax by just gifting property to whomever you choose, outside of probate, whenever your heart desires.

Tell you friend to be sure wife pays property taxes from joint account.

[Auto Donk]

As far as property taxes, only the wife is on the hook. But obviously the tax deduction would be taken on the joint return. If they file separately, only the wife can claim the deduction.

If they get divorced, then the husband is entitled to half. Assuming he fights for it. Unless there is a prenup.

Its pretty normal for parents to put it in their kids name only. It’s not that big of a deal.

edit: oops, I read "as far as property in texas".... sorry about that.....

well, as far as texas is concerned....


real or personal property items in texas, a community prop state, that are given to one partner in a marriage are separate property..... inheritances and gifts to one spouse are indeed separate property, marriage notwithstanding.

interestingly,there is no entitlement to "half" of anything in texas; the standard is a "just and right division", which may be half, but most often isn't due to disparate earnings/earning potential, size of the parties' separate property estates, etc....

[MinnesotaFats]

That's right, the assumption is 50% but I'd think NY would give great credence to professional licences, earnings, earning power, etc.

The guy here has a fighting chance for 1/2 this house....the burden is on the wife to show its seperate and specific for her.

[u21c3f6]

My friend lives with his wife and kids in her parents house, they live on the other side of the house. Well her parents are getting older and the put the house in my friends wives name ONLY?? Is this common just to leave the house in there daughters name and not the husband (my friend)??

Yes, this is very common. I'm sure somebody probably put both names but I am not aware of anyone that has ever done that. All of my wife's and my assets are 50/50 for our two daughters. There is no mention of their husbands on anything. Just the way it is done. Remember something may happen to the marriage(s) before my wife and I leave this planet. I don't expect this but if so, there is no need to change anything on our assets.

Joe.

[chico2663]

It's a marital asset

The title of the house means nothing- your friend has a joint interest in the equity in the event of divorce

depends on state. In ohio my buddy was gifted with 1000 shares of p %g stock. His father retired from there in the 60's. When his mother died she gifted it to him alone. They got divorced 2 years ago and the state determined she wasn't entitled to anything. He had been married to his ex wife for 23 years. He said he went the last 7 yrs without sex and finally got tired of it. Was caught cheating and he was 63 when they got divorced

[mrpapageorgio]

The assumption of a gift is that it is for the benefit of the couple.

Absent a specific designation or use (ie a handicap vehicle for a disabled spouse or a piece of real estate used in the operation of a business run by a spouse) there is a burden on the party looking to prove 'seperate'

It is on the moving party to procure both a specific legal instrument showing this is exclusively for one spouse for their private use, and to never commingle any common property or monies to maintain or pay or use on the property.

To say that the guys friend is just left hanging in the wind empty handed is just reckless by the board here. The husband in this case would assert a claim for 50% of the equity in the property and go to court with evidence of shared enjoyment, shared expenses and no specific use by the wife for a business or personal nature.

The wife would have to argue that the gift was NOT for both parties to use or that it had some specifice value to her alone. The judge would be compelled to award the husband his fair share of the equity based on what has been described here.

The law firms blog is for broad strokes, primarily inheritance or succession of business assets I'm assuming. You can't skirt the law, the civil union, or estate tax or deed tax by just gifting property to whomever you choose, outside of probate, whenever your heart desires.

Tell you friend to be sure wife pays property taxes from joint account.

Where does the assumption of a joint gift apply in real property considering there's a deed demonstrating sole ownership (at least in NY where this scenario is being asked)? If it was property without a paper trail (i.e. Household contents), I could see the assumption. However, assuming a house that is deeded solely to one person (by that individual's parents) and not joint without any other paper trail demonstrating it was intended to be joint ownership for the couple would require major assumptions being made that I can't see being made by a reasonable fact finder.

I don't see what burden she has to meet if it's deeded solely in her name by her parents. The assumption, if any, was that action was deliberately made by the parents to give sole title to the daughter. If they intended it to be marital property, why didn't they put it in both of their names? The NY law already assumes it's solely hers if it's solely in her name, so the burden would be on him to prove it's marital property or intended for both. As long as she pays the property taxes and upkeep separately, then I don't see him entitled to any interest in the house under NY law. Even if taxes/maintenance was paid out of a joint account, I could just see the court ordering reimbursement of his half.

[gauchojake]

I'd be embarrassed as fukk to
a. be your buddy living at his inlaws
b. be complaining about whose fukkin name the house is in

You want a house in your name - go fukkin buy one

jfc

[MinnesotaFats]

Where does the assumption of a joint gift apply in real property considering there's a deed demonstrating sole ownership (at least in NY where this scenario is being asked)? If it was property without a paper trail (i.e. Household contents), I could see the assumption. However, assuming a house that is deeded solely to one person (by that individual's parents) and not joint without any other paper trail demonstrating it was intended to be joint ownership for the couple would require major assumptions being made that I can't see being made by a reasonable fact finder.

I don't see what burden she has to meet if it's deeded solely in her name by her parents. The assumption, if any, was that action was deliberately made by the parents to give sole title to the daughter. If they intended it to be marital property, why didn't they put it in both of their names? The NY law already assumes it's solely hers if it's solely in her name, so the burden would be on him to prove it's marital property or intended for both. As long as she pays the property taxes and upkeep separately, then I don't see him entitled to any interest in the house under NY law. Even if taxes/maintenance was paid out of a joint account, I could just see the court ordering reimbursement of his half.

That is the precedent regarding gifts:

"Unless the property is proven to be for the sole use of one spouse and or specifically for the sole benefit of one spouse the property is deemed to be marital and not seperate"

Seperate property is:
Inherited
Personal injury rewards
Bought with previously seperate property
Identified as seperate by agreement
Pre marital

The posters summary fails on all these merits. The husband will get an equitable distribution.

[mrpapageorgio]

That is the precedent regarding gifts:

"Unless the property is proven to be for the sole use of one spouse and or specifically for the sole benefit of one spouse the property is deemed to be marital and not seperate"

Seperate property is:
Inherited
Personal injury rewards
Bought with previously seperate property
Identified as seperate by agreement
Pre marital

The posters summary fails on all these merits. The husband will get an equitable distribution.

Are you quoting Wikipedia or is this actual New York authority (or a source that would be reasonably reliable to discuss NY law) since that where this fact pattern resides? One state's property laws are not always the same elsewhere.

From this law firm which is quoting New York's law: https://www.nydivlaw.com/lawyer/2017...rk_bl32532.htm

"If you owned or received something before the marriage, it is separate property, regardless of whether it is real property or personal property. Gifts from someone other than your spouse and inheritance are separate property, even if you acquired them during the marriage."

Either way, assuming your your quote is accurate, because the property was deeded to her specifically is evidence that it was for her sole benefit. It's not a simple issue of deciding whether the big screen tv in the living room is his, hers, or both where there's no paper trail short of a receipt showing who bought it using what funds. There is an actual paper trail demonstrating she has sole title (the deed) to the house. He would have to prove the omission of his name from the deed was an oversight, and I don't see anything that shows this was anything but intentional.

I'm going by what this New York law firm says regarding gifts/inheritance in New York. Show me where you got your info from and I'll happily stand corrected if it is correct with regards to NY law. Until then, I don't see where in NY he's entitled to the house since she essentially received it as a gift from her parents and per this NY law firm, it's her separate property regardless of whether it was deeded to her before or during the marriage.

Edit:

Just to prove it's not one source: https://www.divorcenet.com/states/new_york/nyfaq04 (an offshoot of NOLO which is a respected site for looking up legal info).

"Separate property is not divided when a couple divorces. Instead, each spouse gets to keep his or her own separate property, except to the extent that the other spouse has contributed to its increase in value. Separate property includes:


- property either spouse acquired before marriage


-property either spouse received individually as an inheritance or gift, except from the other spouse


-compensation for personal injuries to either spouse


-any property characterized as separate property in a valid prenuptial agreement or other written contract, and


-property acquired from the proceeds or appreciation in value of separate property, unless that appreciation is partly due to the efforts or contributions of the other spouse."