Reply to Giving your married child a down payment, then divorce

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m a divorce lawyer. You’re very smart to consider this.  Under DC law, property acquired during the marriage by a gift to one party remains that party’s separate property so long as she can trace it out. That means you can’t say things like, “This is for both of you.”  You make it clear it is a gift to just your child. Your kid then doesn’t do anything to make it a gift to the marriage (ex. by writing a note “I know you’re uncomfortable with the fact that my parents gave US the down payment but this house is OURS). Keep good records bc if you die, you’re not around to say what your intentions was with the gift. [/quote]

Documenting the intention that the gift is for my child
is enough?

Thanks. [/quote]

Yes, it is about sourcing the $$. It has to have an explicit trail and documention. But why assume....it's work to figure it out in a divorce.  Get it in writing. [/quote]

The above responder is not me (the divorce lawyer), but is correct that you want an explicit trail showing the money can be directly traced from you to your daughter alone AND she keeps it separate until it is used. For example, don’t have her take a check from you and deposit it into a joint account and then have the same money wired to the bank at closing. Although she could still trace the money out, it’s much cleaner if, in addition to documenting that it’s a gift to just her, the money never hits a joint account. You also need to discuss with her what happens upon a sale. If she sells the property or refinances and pulls money out. Without something in writing with her husband, if it’s jointly titled, he’d end up with it all.

Look into filing a gift tax return, which, along with contemporaneous notes between you and your daughter,  can confirm the gift was just to her. [/quote]

So what?

If Mary’s father gifts her $200k that she holds in a separate account but ultimately puts down towards the purchase of a house with her husband Joe, it’s still a joint asset per the title. Presumably joe brings money to the table, too—whether for the down payment or monthly mortgage in the coming years.

With your thinking, every McMansion purchased solely by the breadwinning Alpha male with a SAHM wife is solely his house—and we both know that’s not how  the law works when it comes to marital property. [/quote]

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