Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Add Niece to Property Deed

An attorney would be advisable to explain all the good reasons not to alter the deed to add your niece.

There are several good ways to handle the gift of the property upon your death that do not jeopardize your interest while you are alive.

Good luck to you.

Re: Add Niece to Property Deed

This is the most common and serious mistake people make in doing "home spun estate planning." If you add your neice to the deed you are gifting her a 1/2 interest in the house today, not when you die. If you need to sell, or refinance, or get a reverse mortgage, you will need to get your neice to go along. So you better not do anything to get her angry with you. Plus there are negative tax consequences to gifting an appreciated asset when you are alive. Don't do it. You do not need a lawyer to take care of your estate planning needs properly. But, you should probably use a living trust and other death and disability planning documents. Whether you can do this on your own or need attorney assistance has to do primarily with the nature and extent of your assets. Most people with a net worth of less than one million dollars ($1MM) can. My book, "Create Your Legacy & Save the American Middle Class. How You Can Protect Your Family and Loved Ones in the Event of Death or Disability (Without Paying Legal Fees) and Win their Gratitude and Admiration" explains all you need to know in simple, plain English. You can go to www.yourlivinglegacy.info for more information on this and obtain a download of the book. If you do decide its best to handle all of this without a lawyer, I offer online my Legacy Trust Package which includes a complete planning package, in simple English and valid in every State. The book is $19.95. The do it yourself trust package if you choose to use it is only $79.95.