QUESTION: I am wondering how to transfer my mother’s house to her daughter’s name. My mother and father had a joint house title, but my father has died. My mother is in her 80s with some form of dementia. My father did not make a will and she has not made one. Therefore, I would like to know if transferring the house is the best solution. Can you please advise me?
– Carol
FINANCIAL ADVISER: From what you have said, it seems that your parents owned the house as joint tenants. In such a case, it was not necessary for your father to make a will if the house was the only asset he owned. If your parents owned the house as joint tenants, your mother is the sole owner.
In normal circumstances, there are several ways in which your mother could transfer the house to your sister. She could pass it to her as an inter vivos gift, that is, a gift made to her daughter while she is alive. She could also sell it to her as she would to any other person.
To pass it to her as a gift, she would need to complete the instrument of transfer which can be found on the website of the National Land Agency, www.nla.gov.jm. There is no monetary consideration in a case such as this, but the Statutory Declaration of Value of Property would have to be completed and submitted to the Stamp Duty and Transfer Tax Section of Tax Administration Jamaica for them to make their own determination of the value of the property.
Once this is done, the fees to be paid would be determined. The transfer tax payable is 5 per cent of the value of the property, and the stamp duty payable is $40. Once these are paid, the next step would be to pay the registration fee in person at the Land Titles Division of the NLA, and have the title endorsed with the name of the transferee.
Another option would be to give the house as a gift to her daughter, but in this case, she would hold it for life and the remainder would pass to her daughter when she dies. This approach would give a life interest in the property to your mother, who would remain its owner, with ownership passing to your sister after the death of your mother. The same procedure and fees which apply in the previous case would also apply in this.
A will would not be necessary in this case. With this commitment of your mother to your sister, she would not generally be able to sell the property, but, if she did, the sales proceeds would have to be held for the transferee, your sister.
There is another approach. Your mother could opt to transfer a half share of the property to your sister so that both of them would hold the property as joint tenants. Your sister would become the absolute owner upon the death of your mother, the other joint owner.
Leave A Comment