Legal-Ease: Shared ownership handy now, expensive later

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Co-owning land or other property can be a good idea in the short run, but may present significant difficulties down the road. If one of the co-owners dies, new owners’ wishes can be completely different than what was originally intended.

Vehicles, land or houses can be inherited by more than one person. Some farmers share ownership of a piece of farm machinery with a neighbor because neither one could afford it alone. Some unmarried couples who live together decide that owning a house together is less expensive than renting.

Except if the co-owners are spouses, if the co-owner dies or if contact with that co-owner is lost, some pretty high hurdles can automatically appear. Simply put, if you co-own land or something else with someone other than your spouse, you may find yourself in a very tough spot someday, unless you and the other owner have planned ahead.

Read Lee’s full article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Shared ownership handy now, expensive later

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Shared ownership handy now, expensive later,” by Lee R. Schroeder, May 23, 2015

Posted in Estate Planning, General Law, Homeowner Law, Real Estate Law and tagged , , , , , , , , , .