A little backstory..
My grandfather and grandmother are immigrants as well as my mother. This post is more for my mother, but because she doesn't speak English and doesn't understand the system very well, I am writing on behalf of her. She would like ownership over her mother's house.My mother was the legal caretaker over my grandfather (died 2007) and grandmother (died 2023). My grandmother was diagnosed with schizophrenia as well as other mental illnesses and was mentally incompetent for the last years of her life. She would repeatedly call ambulances to take her to the ER because of her mental illnesses and they would send her straight home. Over the course of one day, she would call my mother about 150 times (no exaggeration) and abruptly hang up when my mom answered. There was a point in 2021 when she physically attacked my mother as well as her other caretaker who is unrelated to my family. My mother was obligated to quit multiple jobs in order to offer full time care to my grandmother and, because of this, was paid by a government program to legally provide care for my grandmother for full time shifts. My mother took this money and used it to pay my grandmother's other caretaker who would watch over her overnight while my mother went home. This dynamic went on from 2019 to 2023.
My grandmothers condo is right across the street from my home. In fact, my grandmother purposely moved across the street from us in every home we have ever lived in because my mother was her sole caregiver. In 2021, my uncle signed ownership of my grandmothers home to himself without my mother being present and without my grandmother knowing that he took her OUT of ownership of her home. He also added his wife as an owner as well. He was responsible for handling my grandmothers money and using her funds to pay off her mortgage, so nobody asked questions about his need for any paperwork at the time.
My grandmother ended up passing without a will in September 2023. Within an hour of passing, my uncle and his wife informed us that their son (my cousin we can call M) would be moving into the house. We were all too distraught to argue in the moment and decided to ask questions later. Culturally, we throw multiple events in the months following the death of a loved one and held these events in my grandmothers home. During our last event, my mother asked my uncle what they should do with the house and he again informed her that his son would be moving in. My mother's wish was to sell it and split the profits with her brother, but he informed her that he had put the house up as collateral and taken money out of it for himself (my grandmother had paid off about 90% of it). He also told her he combined my grandmothers mortgage with his own.My entire family was incredibly confused by this choice.
We repeatedly contacted my uncle and I also contacted my cousin and informed them that we are not comfortable with him moving into the house (My cousin M never came to see my grandmother and did not know us or her). My uncle's wife told them to ignore us and threatened to call the police on us for harassment if we continue calling. My mother has shed thousands of tears over the loss of the home and we are now not allowed to go into it or near it. I offered my uncle to pay my grandmothers portion of expenses on the home in order to have it signed to me and he continues to ignore us.I am wondering now after online research if there is anything I can do to void my uncle's ownership of the house. My mother confirmed with me that she was not present and did not sign any form to transfer ownership and believes her brother may have signed it on his own, since my grandmother would not have signed away her home and did not have the mental capacity to do so even if she did. Can I prove my grandmother was schizophrenic to the court to have them void his ownership? Is there anything I can do legally? We are in Cook County IL.
You are goingvto need a lawyer to straighten this out.
Transfer of real property cannot just happen like handing over a potted plant. It is all done according to legal process. Signatures have to be notarized, so it would be hard to forge them. Papers have to be filed. Mortgages require a lot of documentation. Family doesn't need to be notified. But you can trace property sales and tax records at the county courthouse, if you think it's worth doing.
I'm so sorry you're in this position. A lawyer may be able to advise. I hope you find one who can help.
You can go onto county website to see if anything filed for PC. Like see if anyone has bothered to open probate so far. Your in a big county with major city (Chicago) so PC should will have FAQ as to how to deal with post death options within PC. Fwiw bigger counties will have more than 1 probate judge and will have professional staff and you should avail yourself of their help. Most courthouse will have all items done in more than 1 language based on census data.
But I digress….. what often happens IF the person died without any real assets, is that whomever in the family formerly POA (fwiw POA stopped on day of death) makes the decision to flat not bother with any filings in PC as nothing to create an estate with. They let matters just fade away, ignore debts as the debtor is dead with no assets so nothing a creditor can realistically do. Although creditors will try to affix debt if they can find a family unsophisticated enough to let this happen.
Heres what I think has happened, your Uncle in his role as POA personally paid off balance of her mortgage. This allowed him to convey Title without any issues (because mortgage paid off). Granny now has no house as an asset. House has a clear title. U can go onto courthouse website and look up all property records to see how the new Title reads plus when this was done. You can for a small fee pay for a download on all documents….. there will be a chain of recordings, like “Release of Deed of Trust 8/01/22 @ $8.50” download & that will be the document mortgage co sent out to show loan was paid off. Uncle did & recorded new Title issued. Then if he put it up for collateral for other lending (which it sounds like he did) that securitization (think of it as a lien) would also be recorded in chain of documents affixed to grandmas former old property. Property listed by parcel # or PPIN, not address.
In my experience, lenders do NOT put multiple homes onto a single mortgage for homeowners. To do an umbrella lending with multiple properties securitized, that’s commercial loans. Go onto county website to see how it reads. All this gives solid timeline of what was done on grans former home.
Now for your mom, how exactly was she paid to be a caregiver? Was it by a community Medicaid program? If it was AND if IL includes community Medicaid within Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, then what Uncle did on transferring home will be a serious issue in the next year or so as house would have a Medicaid claim or lien on it. Not an immediate issue for title as MERP tends to do actions after death or upon renewal. But will surface eventually as an issue for him and whatever bank allowed the property to be included as collateral. As title has clouds. But till &/unless that happens, if Title reads his ownership, he says what becomes of it. You would have to have your atty file an action against him that’s what you find an attorney to give an opinion on if feasible. That mom was a caregiver, left a prior job for this DOES NOT MATTER. She chose to do & was paid.
I've been an Executor X 3 and sat in hallways or back of a courtroom way more than I ever planned on. & imho absolutely no way to DIY. It’s probate attorney who does litigation work; & that will mean you upfront pay a retainer (I’d guess 10K) just to have representation. It will end up imho being work done by both a Real Estate atty and the probate attorney, $$$$. If it’s only 50% of a low value home and a Medicaid lien lurking on it, not worth doing imo.
If you find community Medicaid costs are included in MERP, you could report Uncle to Medicaid fraud unit or to Illinois MERP contractor for improper title transfer of asset. It will get ugly….
"In 2021, my uncle signed ownership of my grandmothers home to himself".
Did your Grandmother nominate a Power of Attorney to sign for her? If so, was it your Uncle? (Older people often chose the male offspring as their POA).
If so, he may have been her legal representative, able to legally sign for her.
While it would appear greedy to take the entire property instead of a half-share, it may be legal. You could obtain legal advice on that.
If your suspect your Uncle forged Grandmother's signature this would need to be investigated & proved.
To prove that your Grandmother (deceased) lacked insight to sign legal documents in 2021 - I would image there may need to be medical records stating she was incapacited to decision making at that time the document was signed.
I can understand your Mother feeling hard done by.
Your Mother provided much care, paid & unpaid, by her choice. While this was very important, it is separate to any legal property discussions.
It is almost impossible now at this point to prove any of this. It is all hearsay and conjecture.
Because this was likely fraud against an elder (little that matters in this case) I would run this past an attorney for options and advice, but I suspect there isn't any option. I am so sorry.