Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Re: Transferring or giving a house as a gift

It's perfectly legal to deed property over to someone without their consent. All your mother had to do was execute a deed in proper form. If your brother doesn't want the property, he can sell it or execute a deed to his siblings, giving all of you a share in the property.

There are gift tax and capital gains tax implications in doing this. As the recipient of the property by gift, your brother has to file a gift tax form and pay the gift tax to the IRS. If he's going to sell the property, the profit, which is the difference between what the property sells for (less expenses) and the adjusted basis at which your mother held the property (essentially what she paid for it) will be taxed at the capital gain rate.