Do I need a lawyer?

[blhowes]

Instead of going through a bank when we bought our house, we used a lawyer and had the mortgage made up so that we made monthly payments to her parents over a 20-year period. Well, we make our last payment on the house this month (Praise the Lord) and I was going to go back to the same lawyer and have him make the deed to the house officially ours, go down with her mother to sign any paperwork, etc.

This morning my wife asked something I'd never thought of before. Do we really need a lawyer to do this for us? Isn't there a way to get whatever paperwork is needed ourselves, get it notarized, and submit it to the town hall?

Anybody know if this is something we could do ourselves? I know there's software programs you can use to make up a will, then you get it notarized, and it becomes legal. Is there any way we can do the same kind of thing for the deed of our house?

 

[Richard King]

I have spent much of life avoiding lawyers as much as possible.

If I had it all to do over again I would do things differently. Get counsel.

My experience in life is GET ONE and get as much documentation as possible at every turn.

The cost is small compared to the cost of a family court battle of some kind.

 

[fredtgreco]

Bob,

This series of questions might give you your answer:

1. Did you buy the house outright and obtain a loan, or was this a land contract?
2. Did you borrow all the money from your in laws?
3. Are both their names on the mortgage?
4. Are both still living? You would normally need a release from both.

Typically, what you would need is a Release and Satisfaction of Mortgage (or Release and Satisfaction of Deed of Trust, depending on the state), executed and notarized. That would then need to be filed with the Recorder of Deeds (or similarly named clerk's office). You would also want to get the promissory note back from your in-laws and have them mark it "PAID IN FULL." The put that in a safe place.

All this is not very hard. But it has to be done right. You may want to even contact a local title company (Chicago Title; etc.) they might be willing to draft the proper paperwork (forms really) for a little amount. You should be able to get this done for a little amount - $100? $200?

I hope that helps.

Also, it might help to ask yourself:

 

[blhowes]

Bob,

This series of questions might give you your answer:

1. Did you buy the house outright and obtain a loan, or was this a land contract?
   If I understand the question correctly, we bought the house outright.
   
2. Did you borrow all the money from your in laws?
   We gave them a down payment, then borrowed the rest from my inlaws.
   
3. Are both their names on the mortgage?
   Yes
   
4. Are both still living? You would normally need a release from both.
   Only one is still living.

Typically, what you would need is a Release and Satisfaction of Mortgage (or Release and Satisfaction of Deed of Trust, depending on the state), executed and notarized. That would then need to be filed with the Recorder of Deeds (or similarly named clerk's office). You would also want to get the promissory note back from your in-laws and have them mark it "PAID IN FULL." Then put that in a safe place.

All this is not very hard. But it has to be done right. You may want to even contact a local title company (Chicago Title; etc.) they might be willing to draft the proper paperwork (forms really) for a little amount. You should be able to get this done for a little amount - $100? $200?

I hope that helps.

Thanks for the advice. As you said, it has to be done right, so I'll be real sure before I consider implementing plan B (not using a lawyer). I wonder how much a lawyer would charge. Its been a while since I've used one, but I seem to remember at the time his rate was $150 per hour (boy, am I in the wrong business!).

Also, it might help to ask yourself:

Yes, that's definitely good, solid advice. Thanks.

 

[blhowes]

I have spent much of life avoiding lawyers as much as possible.

If I had it all to do over again I would do things differently. Get counsel.

My experience in life is GET ONE and get as much documentation as possible at every turn.

The cost is small compared to the cost of a family court battle of some kind.

Thanks for the advice. Unless I convince myself otherwise, we'll probably go with the lawyer. Doesn't hurt to check into other options, though.

 

[VictorBravo]

I have spent much of life avoiding lawyers as much as possible.

Me too, Richard! Although it's hard to do in my line of work, being a litigator.

Bob, I don't know how things are in MA, but in my state this sort of thing could be handled by a real estate lawyer in an hour or less. Call around and get an estimate on the phone. I used to do this sort of thing for clients and others for a minimal fee as a loss-leader. So it shouldn't cost very much. As Fred said, a title company might be able to do it too.

Check either option, but it is good to go to someone who is used to dealing with the details. In our state, even missing the margin requirements on the edges of the paper can result in something not getting recorded. In any event, it should not cost very much.

 

[DMcFadden]

Thanks for the advice. As you said, it has to be done right, so I'll be real sure before I consider implementing plan B (not using a lawyer). I wonder how much a lawyer would charge. Its been a while since I've used one, but I seem to remember at the time his rate was $150 per hour (boy, am I in the wrong business!).

$150 an hour??? My principal attorney is billing our ministry at $425/hr. But, maybe that is a California thing.

 

[Thomas2007]

If you know the law. However, it shouldn't cost you a lot to have this taken
care of by an attorney, and then if any mistakes happen - which you might not
learn of until a title search is done many years from now when you want to sell
your house, if you did it on your own in ignorance, then you would be soley liable
for them.

It's important to understand the definition of terms. "Attorn" means:

"To turn over; to transfer to another money or goods; to assign to some
particular use of service. To consent to the transfer of a rent or reversion.
To agree to become a tenant to one as owner or landlord of an estate
previously held of another, or to agree to recognize a new owner of a property
or estate and promise payment of rent to him." Blacks Law Dictionary, 6th Edition

Hence, an "attorney" is a substitute that represents you at law in property transfers.

Since that is what you are doing, I would suggest you consider using one unless
you are knowledgable in the law. Are you going to drop your homeowners insurance
once the title is free and clear of indebtedness? Probably not, hence, if you don't have the
capacity to self insure your home against disaster, then you may want to consider
any ignorance of the law you may have as being just as dangerous to your estate.

Cordially,

Thomas

 

[fredtgreco]

Thanks for the advice. As you said, it has to be done right, so I'll be real sure before I consider implementing plan B (not using a lawyer). I wonder how much a lawyer would charge. Its been a while since I've used one, but I seem to remember at the time his rate was $150 per hour (boy, am I in the wrong business!).

$150 an hour??? My principal attorney is billing our ministry at $425/hr. But, maybe that is a California thing.

Not a California thing. When I left the practice of law several years ago, I was billed out by my firm at just a little bit less than that.

 

[VictorBravo]

Thanks for the advice. As you said, it has to be done right, so I'll be real sure before I consider implementing plan B (not using a lawyer). I wonder how much a lawyer would charge. Its been a while since I've used one, but I seem to remember at the time his rate was $150 per hour (boy, am I in the wrong business!).

$150 an hour??? My principal attorney is billing our ministry at $425/hr. But, maybe that is a California thing.

Not a California thing. When I left the practice of law several years ago, I was billed out by my firm at just a little bit less than that.

It depends on the area of practice and region too. Those rates are relatively rare for real estate work around here, even in Seattle, and are a bit high for our area except for the more exotic areas of practice. $160-185 an hour is fairly usual around here for typical work like insurance defense, routine real estate transactions, and general practice. It goes much higher for complex issues like tax and securities law or white collar criminal defense.

 

[blhowes]

All this is not very hard. But it has to be done right. You may want to even contact a local title company (Chicago Title; etc.) they might be willing to draft the proper paperwork (forms really) for a little amount. You should be able to get this done for a little amount - $100? $200?

Just came from the lawyer who specializes in titles. $275 -

Thanks,
Bob

 

[fredtgreco]

Glad to hear it worked out, Bob.