Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: Preventing change of deed

I assume the first deed was filed with the county clerk. If so, he cannot sell without your wife signing a deed to the new purchaser.

Re: Preventing change of deed

You did not state in what capacity your wife and brother-in-law own the house. If they are tenants in common, your brother-in-law or your wife have the right to sell their undivided interest without the permission of the other. But all they can sell is the part they each own.

In the event your brother-in-law brings someone to the closing who impersonates your wife and signs the deed, you have legal recourse against the new owner.

In such a situation, the title company would be responsible to see that the person who signs a deed really is who they claim to be.

You might wish to retain an attorney to look at the deed and write to your your brother-in-law.

Re: Preventing change of deed

Dear Reader:

In examining this response, please note that we are not entering into an attorney/client relationship, that this is to be taken as informative, and not as legal advice, that it is always best to speak to a lawyer in your area and/or in the area where the transaction and/or events occurred, and that my answer is necessarily limited by the fact that I have not seen the documentation or had an opportunity to go over the matters with you in detail.

I agree with previous answers, and add that it may be worthwhile to talk to the real estate broker with the listing and explain that your wife is not selling her interest now, and that he or she should call first before a contract is signed and a closing is scheduled, to avoid the potential for fraud.

Note that your brother-in-law not only has the right to sell his undivided interest, he can go to court to force a sale of the whole property (a case like that is called a "partition action"). Then both he and your wife will incur significant legal fees, not to mention delays, and your wife may have to buy him out if she wants to keep it, so it may be worthwhile to listen to any offers he gets.

As I mentioned before, this is something that you will want to take up with a lawyer of your own selection, either in your state or area or in a place where some of the pertinent events occurred.

Rod Kovel Attorney at Law 516-312-9900