Pricetag
5/19/2009, 02:13 PM
Say an 87-year-old widower man was living alone in the home that he owned. He has two children--one daughter, and her younger brother. The Old Man, Son, and his family live in the same small town where they grew up. Daughter and her family live two hours away.
In the past few weeks, Son has become urgently concerned about how much of the booty he'll receive when The Old Man passes. He's so concerned that he had his daughter (Grand-daughter), who works at a local law office, have a deed drawn up transferring the home to a three-way ownership between The Old Man, Daughter, and Son. Son and his three kids badger The Old Man into signing the document, under the condition that it not be filed until he has passed away.
Grand-daughter instead files the document immediately.
The Old Man is done living on his own. He is relatively physically healthy, but has lost a step mentally. He has found a buyer for the house, but the sale does not go through because of the new deed. Because Oklahoma is a community property state, any action on the deed will require not only the signature of The Old Man, Daughter, and Son, but also those of Daughter's husband and Son's wife. Son and his wife are blocking sale of the property because they're so concerned with their pay out when The Old Man passes away.
My question--can the deed be attacked legally? I think The Old Man's mental state can be called into question, and there was definitely duress involved in the signing. In addition, Grand-daughter back-dated the deed nine years, back to 2000, and a notary was not present when The Old Man signed it. There's no way that thing can stand up to examination, is there?
In the past few weeks, Son has become urgently concerned about how much of the booty he'll receive when The Old Man passes. He's so concerned that he had his daughter (Grand-daughter), who works at a local law office, have a deed drawn up transferring the home to a three-way ownership between The Old Man, Daughter, and Son. Son and his three kids badger The Old Man into signing the document, under the condition that it not be filed until he has passed away.
Grand-daughter instead files the document immediately.
The Old Man is done living on his own. He is relatively physically healthy, but has lost a step mentally. He has found a buyer for the house, but the sale does not go through because of the new deed. Because Oklahoma is a community property state, any action on the deed will require not only the signature of The Old Man, Daughter, and Son, but also those of Daughter's husband and Son's wife. Son and his wife are blocking sale of the property because they're so concerned with their pay out when The Old Man passes away.
My question--can the deed be attacked legally? I think The Old Man's mental state can be called into question, and there was definitely duress involved in the signing. In addition, Grand-daughter back-dated the deed nine years, back to 2000, and a notary was not present when The Old Man signed it. There's no way that thing can stand up to examination, is there?