Alachua, FL Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Hello.  Thank you for reaching out with this question.  It sounds to me as if your friend has a "life estate" in a home and her grandsons are the remaindermen.  Possibly, from your question, she could be the remainder with her grandsons as the life estate tenant-- as you say it is in the grandson's name.  But that would defeat the purpose of a life estate interest, so I will assume it is the first possiblity.  As the owner of a Life Estate, if the property is in Florida, she may have a homestead interest in the property- providing more than just a break on her annual taxes, but providing her with certain rights against creditors and other rights she may not want to give up.  Furthermore, if she is unable to live alone- selling or gifting her rights to the property may result in the loss of certian benefits.  Finally, quite possibly, depending upon whether the property is held as a "Lady Bird Deed," or not, will depend upon whether the remainders must also sign the deed in order to make the title marketable to a final buyer.  An Elder Care attorney may be able to help her with the specificities of these concerns and lead her in the right direction.  Good luck!

You should NOT put your girlfriend's name on the house. You can change this AFTER you are married, IF you get married. You can have a separate agreement with your girlfriend that you will put her name on the house if you should get married, but DO NOT put her name on the deed now.