Submitted by micheN on Tue, 11/09/2010 - 12:15
Posted in
My wife and I would like to use a deed we found on a website to transfer partial ownership of our home to our daughter. We would like to do this so that she becomes an owner with rights of survivorship. My question is, can we do this transfer on our own without an attorney or does Massachusetts law required us to have an attorney draft the deed.
Transfer property without an attorney
The short, and extremely inadequate answer, is that Massachusetts law does not require you to hire an attorney to execute and/or record a deed. However, before you take any steps in the direction you are contemplating, I would talk to a Massachusetts estate planning attorney. I know it sounds easy: You draft a deed or pay a few dollars on a website for a form, sign it, and move on with your life. But the transfer of the ownership of real property can raise MANY other issues, everything from disqualification for Medicaid, to gift tax considerations, to triggering an acceleration clause in your mortgage. Pay a few hundred dollars, do it right, then sleep better at night. Good luck.