Gram & Gramp have a condo in Clearwater. Gramp has passed, Gram is with us. They have a Trust set up, upon both of their passing, the condo was to be sold and profits split between the 3 creepy kids. It's my understanding that the Trust is only valid upon her passing. Oldest son wanted to buy their condo. Gram said absolutely not. Oldest son drove from MO to FL to bring her to MI, talked her into selling him the condo for $30K. Hubs and I agreed that it's fully her condo to do with what she pleases, she could give it to a stranger if she wants. Gram changes her mind again, no sale. One week later and several phone calls from the Oldest son, sale is on. Son sends check for $30K, gram deposits it. (We are currently in the midst of the 10 day wait for it to clear) Gram talks to her sister who says the sale price is crazy, she could get way more. Essentially the deal Oldest Son made with gram was he would forfeit his 1/3 of the sale, and the $30k would be split between the 2 sisters. Sort of as if the condo was $45K...however, only paying $30 means his is essentially getting his 1/3. In the middle of all this, I told gram and hubby that it's only been 6 months since Gramp passed, now is not the time to make big decisions like this and it should be revisited next summer. Now the sale is off AGAIN! She wants to get to the bank asap and send him his money back. BTW..he re-mortgaged his house to get the $30K. At this point, I think it's pretty crappy to back out. Any thoughts are appreciated!!!!
Judging what decisions she is able to make competently for herself and which have, honestly, got beyond her is pretty much the name of the game as her POA. So at this point, when to the objective observer she hasn't a clue what she really wants to happen with the condo, as long as you keep her money safe and don't let anyone rip her off you can't go far wrong. Best of luck with it :)
Just curious.....Does Hubs have much influence over his granny? Anyway to starting getting finances out of her hands. You don't mention dementia but at that age reasoning abilites aren't always what they should be. My Mom at 84 can be sharp as a tack on some issues but then get sucked into a phone scam an hour later. Luckily, she is letting me take over more and more decisions and finances.
This sounds like a ticking bomb to me. If at all possible, I'd recommend putting everyone back to the status quo ante and taking professional advice on how best to manage your grandmother's assets. Does anyone have power of attorney for her?
And has the homeowner insurance been upped to cover the fact that place is vacant? Reason for higher insurance is if there is a water leak that could effect the condo unit below your Grandparent's unit. If the insurance company wasn't notified that the place is vacant, they might not pay for any repairs.
Here is something everyone needs to think about big time.... what if Grandma needs to apply for Medicaid within the next 5 years? If the Medicare office notices that the condo was sold below market value to a relative, that would cause some major issues with Grandma getting Medicaid.
By the way, any real estate offers need to be in writing. I would hire a real estate Agent in Clearwater to give a current market value of the condo, and have him/her sell the place, then place the profits into an account for Grandma.