If I transferred an $1100 car and my $1600 mobile home into my mother’s name 2 months before she died, can I just transfer them back since I paid for them?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I transferred an $1100 car and my $1600 mobile home into my mother’s name 2 months before she died, can I just transfer them back since I paid for them?
Or do they have to be applied to her estate? Mind you, that is all she would have in her estate and about $150 spread out in 3 bank accounts. Also, I still live in the home and have been maintaining the insurance on her car in my name. Her debt is over $12,000 to creditors/debts.
Asked on June 21, 2015 under Estate Planning, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
If you put them into your mother's name, they are hers, not yours, and you have no legal right to take them back. (Living in the home or maintaining the car insurance has no bearing on this.) Since she has passed away, they are part of her estate and will have to be distributed as part of her estate; also, since she--or more accurately now, her estate--owes far more than the estate is worth, there is a reasonable chance that the creditors, if they seek to collect from her estate, will be able to get these items.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.