My father-in-law is the sole owner of the family home (corner terrace). He is unwilling to prepare a will as he claims that he is happy with the intestacy distribution - half to wife and quarter to each of his two sons, when he dies. We also were not concerned, except that he has recently started having severe memory lapses, unexplained bouts of anger and he seems to be easily persuaded by others who speak to him. He is in his late 70s and could be suffering from early stages of dementia. We are concerned that he may be deceived or manipulated into selling the house by agents or even greedy relatives and may only discover it when it's too late. We thought of a couple of alternatives :- 1. Getting my mother-in-law to be a co-owner to the property, so my father-in-law can't sell the property on his own; or 2. Having my husband (as 1 of the 2 sons) buy out his quarter share from my father-in-law or even better, if he can buy the entire property from my father-in-law. Before we try to convince him on either of these 2 options, I wanted to hear if others can think of any other alternatives. Also for option 1 above, do any of you have information on how to change a solely-held property into a jointly-held one. What are the fees involved - legal? are stamp fees payable? what docs need to be signed? how long does it take? If we go with option 2, would my husband be able to get a loan for the quarter share (S$300,000.00)? can he lodge a caveat against the property for the quarter share - i should think so? what docs need to be signed? can he use CPF to pay for the quarter share? how much would legal fees be? is stamp fees payable on the quarter share? if my husband buys the quarter share at an undervalue, is this an issue to anyone - IRAS for payment of stamp fees? Bank for provision of smaller loan? Would also appreciate if you have any lawyers to recommend who are experienced in this area of work. If my father-in-law resists these 2 options, I don't know how else to help him. He is still of sound mind but I fear that if we don't take measures now, we may only be able to take measures when he is no longer of sound mind and alot can happen to the property in between.
