Question: My mother passed away recently, and my father
is now the sole owner of the family home in East Phoenix. My father
has no will, and I am the only child. My father’s new girlfriend
is now living in the home with him. Should I ask my father to
add my name to the title? If I am not on the title when my father
passes away, can I ask his girlfriend to leave the home?
Answer: The danger is that your father in a weak moment
could add his new girlfriend to the title to the home. If the
new girlfriend is added to the title as a joint tenant with right
of survivorship, she would be the owner of the home after your
father’s death, even though you would have otherwise been entitled
to be the owner of the home as the sole heir of your father’s
estate. Therefore, I would suggest that you and your father make
an appointment with an estate planning attorney to discuss estate
planning options with this house such as transferring the house
to a trust with you as the trustee. In regard to your other question,
if the new girlfriend is not on the title to the home when your
father passes away, the new girlfriend will be a month-to-month
tenant. If you are not on the title to the home at that time,
you as the personal representative of your father’s estate would
be entitled to deliver to her a written thirty-day notice to move
out.
