Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

My sister purchased a house for my parents in her name because she has excellent credit. The deed is in my sister's name. The $200,00 down payment was paid by the parents and the mortage is paid by my parents for over seven years. However, my sister pays the mortage through her checking account. Now that one parent is deceased, my sister claims she now owns the house, makes all of the decisions, and is planning to remove her own sibling and niece from the home as her name is on the deed and she says she owns the house. Is there any recourse for my father who is extremely distraught over this matter? My mother left a will naming her husband as beneficiary. Does the will supercede the deed of trust? Would appreciate your help.


Asked on 9/15/11, 1:55 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Arnold Nager Arnold H. Nager, Esquire

Technicly, tour sister does own the house. However, since your parents made all the payments, your father need to retain an attorney to sue your sister. The attorney would ask the court to impose a constructive trust on the house for the benefit of your father. It sounds much more complicated than it actually is.

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Answered on 9/15/11, 2:02 pm
Christopher Moye The Law Office of Christopher Moye

I can't think of a clearer example of a case where your father MUST retain an attorney. There are a number of issues at work here (real estate, trusts and estates, etc.) and I think that any attorney who risked answering a question of this complexity in this kind of forum would honestly risk their license to practice law. I agree 100% with my fellow attorney who responded above -- please find a competent attorney with real estate experience to help you with this matter.

I think that you would be doing yourself a HUGE disservice if you tried to handle this in a free or low cost forum. It's much too complicated an issue to handle that way!

I wish you the best of luck finding someone to help you. If you need help, please don't hesitate to call.

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Answered on 9/15/11, 2:34 pm


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