Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

My father in law is 80 years old and in poor health. His second wife recently died, and before she did, she removed his name from the deed of the house they lived in together for 25+ years, without his knowledge. She put the house in her children's names. My father in law paid the mortgage, bills, repairs, etc. for the entire time he lived there, and now officially doesn't have a piece of this house. Now his stepchildren are trying to get him to leave and move to a nursing home.

This is causing him and my wife (his daughter) tremendous stress. Do we have any recourse? We don't care about the house. We just want him to live there until he passes in peace. His stepchildren can have the house after and do whatever they want to do with it, and we'll be out of their lives. Any insight you can provide would be great. Thanks!!


Asked on 2/03/10, 6:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Arnold Nager Arnold H. Nager, Esquire

It is not possible for your father-in-law's wife to remove him from the deed without his knowledge. He would have had to dign the deed transferring title out of his name before a notary.

If in fact, it was done fraudulently, he has recourse to have the conveyance set aside.

You should start by examining the title at the County Clerk's office where the property is located. Most counties allow the records to be searched on line. You can check to see if the signature is your father-in-law's or a forgery.

This post is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is a comment on the legal question posed by the poster and should not be relied upon in any way. All readers are advised to consult an attorney to address their specific legal concerns. Additional facts could affect the answer given.

My comments are based on treating your question as a hypothetical. Accordingly, my comments could be substantially and materially different were I advised of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. My comments are by necessity general in nature, and should not be relied upon in taking or forgoing action in your circumstances without retaining an attorney. In order to fully explore your legal matter, you should meet with me or another attorney and bring to any such meeting all relevant documents and correspondence, and any other relevant facts. I am not hired to be your attorney, and no attorney-client relationship exists between us, unless and until you enter into a written retainer agreement with me, tender the agreed amount for a retainer and it is accepted by me. I reserve the right to decline representation should circumstances change. As you are aware, in New York there are various deadlines for filing a complaint, filing an answer to a complaint, or taking other action in order to preserve your legal rights, and avoid a complete loss of those rights. You should retain counsel immediately in order to be fully advised of your rights, and to be fully informed of the applicable time period within which those rights must be asserted. If you were to delay in doing so, it might result in your potential cause of action being forever barred.

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Answered on 2/08/10, 6:38 am


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