Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

More likely than not, your perspective should be, "We already have two people on our house deed." If there is someone else in title, then it is not "my house deed," but "our house deed."

You should consult with a local real estate attorney to understand the current status. Do you own title jointly or in common?

You can add others, but to provide full interests, the other owner needs to be involved. Otherwise, all you are conveying is part of your interest and diminishing your overall share in the ownership.

Also, the addition of other parties will leave the question how you want to hold title among each other. Will the property remain in the survivors if anything should happen to anyone or will it pass through the decedent's estate? Perhaps one or more will own jointly with another, while others will have separate interests.

All in all, this is far more involved than you can imagine. To the extent you are trying to plan for the future of the property, it would be best that you consult with an attorney experienced in real estate and estate planning. This is not the time to save money as that will likely create a more costly mess to sort out.

If you are having issues with the co-owner, perhaps you should be considering one of you buying the other out or the property being sold. Since that can be compelled if necessary, often the threat of doing so will be sufficient to work out an agreement.

In addition to the information provided by Mr. Repay, you also need to be concerned about any provisions of your mortgage that might prohibit this. As far as the math goes, you can only transfer your interest in the real estate. If you transfer to two other people, you and the two new people would own a 1/6 interest, and the other original owner would retain his or her 1/2 interest. This may not be ideal.