Mom is getting old and got sick. We thought it would be a good idea to quit claim her home over to her adult children to be proactive in the event that she becomes seriously ill and as a precaution to avoid having her lose her home. What's the process for a quit claim and are there any substantial fees or taxes with a transfer from parent to child(ren).
Basically, you will need an attorney to prepare a deed and you will need to pay for the recording of the deed. Considering your situation, however, you should consider visiting an elder law attorney or a trusts and estates attorney to handle this matter for you since there may be tax or other implications to conveying her real property. Please consult with an attorney before you attempt to do this.
The process is basically a deed transfer however in order to protect both your mother and her children I would advise a deed transfer from your mother to her children with a life estate to your mother which translate to the fact that for as long as your mother is alive her children cannot put her out of the house or sell the house. The children get full ownership upon her death only.
Hire a lawyer to prepare a Life Estate deed for your mother for the benefit of the children and ACRIS papers as well. The process should be fairly easy. You should also consider an estate attorney as well
The fees should not be that substantial.
I agree with my colleagues that the mother should retain a life estate in the property which would grant her the possessory interest in the property (allowing to live there or rent the property).
You should not delay as you need to take into account the five year medicaid look back period.
This is best handled in the context of an elder law plan. Your mother and those children who can serve as fiduciaries (e.g., trustee, agent under power of attorney) should consult with an elder law attorney to discuss the programs available to your mother. For example, Medicaid has a home care program. As Daniel mentioned, there are tax implications to the option that you describe. You should seek professional advice before simply using a quitclaim deed.
The procedure may be one of three approaches: First, simply do a quitclaim deed from her to all the children. There will be a transfer tax in NY unless you claim exemption and also recording fees. I usually call it an interfamily transfer without consideration. That would be on TP-584 form and on RP5217 form I would in the right box check "not a bargain and sale box" and write quitclaim deed in correct place.
You can also make same transfer only reserve a life estate for mother which is what we do when the parents are still active. The last is simply add children to deed with right of survivorship.
