Can I make up a contract that states when my Mom pays for and builds a apartment onto our house that if the house sells before her death she will be reimbursed for her share of the investment into the house?
I do not want to have to hire an attorney to do this. Can I write it out and have all 3 of us sign it and it be legal? We live in Alabama.
2007-11-07 14:29:36 · 3 answers · asked by mdjgirl7 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I am a only chlld
2007-11-07 16:28:08 · update #1
Yes you can it will be a binding contract.Make sure each person has a copy and i would have them notorized if possible if not it will still be binding.
2007-11-07 14:37:57 · answer #1 · answered by wanna know 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will be legal. If your mother decides to register the document as a lien against the house, it would carry the same weight as a mortgage. (It might also cause problems when you renew your mortgage.) If she does not register it, it would legally be the same as a loan from a bank or a loan company. You would be obligated to pay the money, but the loan would be unsecured.
If you do this, I strongly recommend that the wording be as simple as possible. The way you worded the question would work well, but you should say what happens if she dies before the house is sold. The options are: (1) the loan will be forgiven, (2) your share of the estate will be reduced by the amount of the loan, (3) you will pay the estate the amount of the loan, or (4) you will pay the other heirs the amount of the loan when the house is sold.
My mother loaned one of my brothers money for a down payment on a house. The loan paper said that she would be paid if the house was sold before she died, and that his share of the estate would be reduced by the amount of the loan if she died before the house was sold. There were no problems. The lawyer who helped me with my mother's estate mentioned that he would have less business if lawyers drew up contracts that were as simple and easy to understand as the loan document.
2007-11-07 22:47:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live in California, but here, you can basically write up an agreement and have someone sign it. It's really best if it is notarized, though. You just pay like $30 to a local notary (can usually be found at the county clerk's office) and they basically vouch that all parties agreed to the contract.
2007-11-07 22:39:19 · answer #3 · answered by kimmabear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋