If you have power of attorney can you legally put the persons house in your name?

Answer 1

The answer to this question is: "It depends" - you should absolutely consult an attorney before doing this -- you need someone who can read your document and interpret it within the context of state law, as a mistake could cause legal and/or financial problems for the grantor and/or the person holding power of attorney (called an attorney in fact or AIF).

First, make sure you want to really do this after looking into the financial consequences.

You should talk to an accountant or tax advisor about the tax consequences of doing this, since the transfer of real estate is a potentially taxable event for both the grantor and the AIF (examples would be a possible gift tax consequence for the grantor and higher capital gains taxes for the AIF when the property is sold in the future)

AND, if there is a mortgage on the house, most lenders have the right to be paid in full at the time the property is no longer in the original borrower's name, so be careful. Unless you are in a position to refinance the grantor's mortgage into your name, this could potentially be considered a "default" leading to foreclosure if the loan cannot be paid in full. Some lenders don't care about transfers (especially within a family) as long as they are being paid on time, but their right to foreclose might always be hanging over your head if you do this.

So, assuming after looking at the numbers, you still want to go forward, consider this:

In order for an AIF to put the grantor's house in the AIF's name, the AIF would sign a deed (perhaps a grant deed, nonwarranty deed or quitclaim deed depending on the state and the circumstances). This deed would convey property from grantor to the AIF.

Whether this is permitted/legal will depend on at least five things:

1. What is the state law in the state where the deed is being signed? Some states allow this; some might prohibit it outright (not sure of any off hand), but most allow the grantor to specify one way or the other at the time the power of attorney is signed.

2. What is the state law in the state where the house is located (if different from the state in #1)? The laws in both states would probably have to allow this to avoid trouble but most real estate matters are governed by the laws of the state where the house is located.

3. What does the power of attorney actually SAY? In most states, a power of attorney must actually SAY it is ok to convey property to the AIF in order to do this or you must assume that it is NOT permitted.

4. Would doing this constitute fraud or other misbehavior on the part of the AIF (in other words, is doing this in the best interest of the grantor or is doing this an attempt at taking property from the grantor without the grantor's consent or best interest at heart?) In most states, even if you are "technically" able to do this, it would still be a crime to do it if your motive was to steal the property from the grantor or if you were trying to prevent heirs from inheriting the property at the time of the grantor's death. In some states doing this could also be a criminal or civil violation if you are attempting to hide the grantor's assets from a creditor or from Medicaid.

5. Is the power of attorney valid at the time of the deed signing (i.e. not expired, the grantor is alive, all contingencies within the document are met with regards to the health of the grantor, etc.).

==Additional Answer== There may be an additional problem. Any future grantee may not accept the conveyance to yourself as a bona-fide conveyance without the consent in writing of the principal. Especially if the property has a higher than average value. If the principal is no longer alive at that point then you may have a costly problem to solve.