Can A Home I Already Own Be Included In My Mom's Will?
I have a question about a situation that is likely to arise when my mother passes away. When I moved into the house I currently own, she had purchased it originally because I was coming out of a divorce and was not in a place financially to do it myself. I paid the payments for 10 years until I could purchase it from her in 2022, when we refinanced it and added my name to the loan. She gifted me the deed, so it is only in my name.
My sister currently lives in my mother's other home, for which my sister is paying the payments, while the deed remains in my mother’s name. We are her only children/heirs, and my father passed away in 2009.
In preparation for my mom's estate, she has informed me that she is naming me her executor and has showed me the current copy of her will. She has also shown me the worksheets she is using to calculate the division of assets. Her plan is to make the division equitable, with cash assets offset by the value of other assets. My home is worth $160K, and the one my sister lives in is worth $260K.
Prior to 2022, when the homes were both in my mom's name, the two homes were included in the will/division of assets to show that we were each inheriting that equity value before calculating the value of the cash assets to be divided. In the most recent copy of the will, I saw that my home is still listed as an asset being left to me, even though it is already purchased and owned by me. I asked my mom about this, and why the value wasn't taken out, and she said that since the value was already given to me it should be counted as part of the inheritance when she passes.
I don't want to cause a fight in advance of her passing, but my question is if a probate/estate lawyer would be able to establish that a home I purchased and was deeded in my name prior to her passing is exempt from inclusion in the will? I don't look forward to a fight like this, but obviously I want the assets to be divided fairly. I busted my ass to get my credit right to afford the house, and don't think it's something to carry over.
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