Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas
Property Lien
My mother passed and left her house to my brothers and I. Its free and clear. Problem my youngest brother is an alcholic and lives there. He was written out of the will by mom. We allow him to stay there bc he would be evicted anywhere else bc of the drinking. He receives SSI. I'd like to know if we put the house in his name so we wouldn't be taxed to death. Could we be put on the title as lien holders so that he couldn't get drunk and sell the house from under us. Someone at the property tax office said just bc you have a lien on the property doesn't mean they can't sell it. Is there anything we can do short of eviciting him and selling the property. I live in Georgia and the property is in Texas.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Property Lien
I'm not really sure of your objective. Could you have the brother pay a small amount of rent with the SSI (at least enought to cover taxes.) I'm not sure why you'd put the house in his name, though. I suppose he could claim homestead exemption, but that's not enough to justify giving up the home. You could give him a life estate, allowing him to live there for the remainder of his life, and the remainder back to you guys. This would allow him homestead exemption and inhibit his ability to sell from under you.
Re: Property Lien
You should evict bro and sell the house. As the sister of someone with a chemical problem, you need to know he will never change and the relationship will be a nightmare until he loses the house - and he will. Best of luck.
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