April 2017 // Real Estate & Home Builders Guide // 3M
An abusive mother makes
C OUNTRY
,
home ownership unbearable P R REFERRED
EALTORS
By Ilyce Glink
and Samuel J. Tamkin
Tribune Content Agency
Q
: My mother and I are
both on the title to our
house. The house is paid
off. My mother is also
abusive and I am disabled.
She has threatened to get
an attorney and throw me
out of the house.
Can she legally do this
when I reside in the house,
maintain it, have made
multiple improvements
to it, and continue to
plan to make further
improvements? For a time,
I did not reside there and
my mother allowed a tenant
to move in who was dealing
drugs out of our home. She
didn’t consult me about this
decision and then claimed I
had no rights to be involved
when it comes to who rents
the house.
Is my mother allowed
to remove me from title
simply because she wants
to hurt me?
: We’re sorry you are
in such a troubled
situation. Your personal
issues with your mother
are troubling and will
certainly cloud your living
situation; but from the legal
side you own this home
with your mother. Your
mother shouldn’t be able to
throw you out of the home
nor should she be able to
remove you from the title to
the home.
You should make sure
you understand exactly
how you and your mother
own title to the home. You
and she have quite a bit
of money invested in this
property and now that the
home is paid off, you have
a significant amount of
equity in the home. You
have made improvements
to the home as we’d expect
any owner of a home to
make to his or her home.
You have to figure out
A
your options. We suggest
that you find a real estate
attorney or family law
attorney to sit down with
you and go over what
has happened. If you and
your mother are unable to
live together and unable
to manage the home as
co-owners, it might be best
for you and your mom to
split up. For you to split up,
you might need to have her
buy you out of the property
or you might have to buy
her out.
Would your mother
would be willing to sell her
interest in the home to you
or buy out your interest?
And, here is where family
and the law might collide.
Frequently, parents make
decisions that appear to
be good at first glance but
can come back to bite them
later.
You didn’t mention how
you became a co-owner
of the home. If you and
your mom both went out
and purchased the home,
you’d have a situation that
would be pretty unique.
If, on the other hand, your
mom purchased the home
some time ago and put you
on the title to the home,
you’d have a more classic
scenario. We bring this
up to illustrate that your
mother may feel that she
owns the home and that you
may be on the title just for
“estate planning” purposes
-- for you to get the home
upon her death.
If we’re right and your
mom put you on the title,
then you may not have
put enough money into
the home to be an “equal”
owner in the home from
your mother’s perspective.
From the legal perspective,
you might be a 50 percent
owner, but not from your
mom’s. If this is the case,
if you approach your
mother to buy you out,
you might just be looking
at getting back the money
you put into the home and
perhaps not looking to
benefit from some of the
appreciation given from the
improvements you made to
the home.
If you had said that you
had not put improvements
into the home and your
mom had put you on title,
we’d probably suggest
that you move out and
get your own place. What
we have not addressed is
your disability. If your
disability allows you to
live on your own, then for
your own well-being, you
might be better off living
somewhere else. Only you
can judge that situation
and determine what is
best for you, particularly
if living with your mom is
physically hurting you and
your relationship with her.
The bottom line is that
your mom shouldn’t be able
to sell the home without
you and you should still get
the full title to the home
when your mom dies, but
only if you are joint tenants
with right of survivorship
on the title to the home.
For all these reasons,
you might want to dig
deep to figure out what
is best for you, for your
living situation, for your
relationship with your
mom, for your disability,
and for your finances;
and then make a decision.
If you sit down with an
attorney and walk through
all these issues, you might
get a better sense of what
your options are and how
the future with your mother
and this property is likely
to play out.
Ilyce Glink is the creator
of an 18-part webinar+e-
book series. Samuel J.
Tamkin is a Chicago-based
real estate attorney.
Contact at ThinkGlink.com.
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