Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

You can deed over the house to your son and retain a life estate. However, you should get permission from the bank holding the mortgage. If you don't and the bank finds out about the transfer, it may call in the entire balance due.

You can also deed the house to your son outright and retain a power to revoke the transfer.

This would give your son a stepped up basis at your death and might still entitle you to Medicaid coverage if you need nursing home care.

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 both authors and add that in any document you sign, it include a detailed statement of who is responsibe to pay what costs in connection with the house, like taxes, insurance, utilitieis, repairs, etc.