Right of occupancy

Scifimom26

New Member
Jurisdiction
Maine
I live with my boyfriend in his home. He has his son as his beneficiary. I've asked and he's agreed to sign a paper for me to get lifetime right of occupancy should something happen to him. Can I get this paper just notarized and it would be legal? Do we need to go to a lawyer? Do we need to file anything with the government?
 
I live with my boyfriend in his home. He has his son as his beneficiary. I've asked and he's agreed to sign a paper for me to get lifetime right of occupancy should something happen to him. Can I get this paper just notarized and it would be legal? Do we need to go to a lawyer? Do we need to file anything with the government?
How long has he been you boyfriend? How old are you? Do you and he share minor children? Is there a reason you and he haven't married?
 
I live with my boyfriend in his home. He has his son as his beneficiary. I've asked and he's agreed to sign a paper for me to get lifetime right of occupancy should something happen to him. Can I get this paper just notarized and it would be legal? Do we need to go to a lawyer? Do we need to file anything with the government?
What you are actually looking for is a "life estate". You will want an attorney to assist in drawing up the documents and making sure they are properly recorded.
 
I live with my boyfriend in his home. He has his son as his beneficiary.

If you are referring to Maine's transfer on death deed your life estate document might not be effective because the property transfers directly to the beneficiary without being part of the estate.

I believe (subject to verification) that the life estate would have to be granted to you in the deed itself.

Also keep in mind that the beneficiary deed and the life estate can be revoked at any time during the lifetime of the grantor. If your romance ends, you're on your own.

he's agreed to sign a paper for me

Big difference between agreeing to sign and signing. You'll need to get him to a lawyer to get this done right.
 
He has his son as his beneficiary.

Beneficiary of what?

I've asked and he's agreed to sign a paper for me to get lifetime right of occupancy should something happen to him.

What does "should something happen to him"? Isn't it the case that dozens or hundreds of things happen to him every day? Did you mean when he dies (assuming you are still his girlfriend at the time of his death and outlive him)?

Can I get this paper just notarized and it would be legal?

What does "this paper" mean? In other words, are you really asking folks to opine about the "legality" of some document that doesn't exist and which you haven't described in any clear way?

As far as notarization, that's merely a way to evidence that a signature is genuine. It doesn't magically make a document "legal" if it wasn't otherwise "legal."

Finally, you cannot "get [a] paper . . . notarized" that someone else has signed. The person signing the document must appear personally before the notary.

Do we need to go to a lawyer?

Your boyfriend certainly should, but you should not be part of those discussions. For example, what happens if you and he break up in six months but you live for another 40 years. Would he really want you to have the right to live in his home all that time? That would be crazy.

Do we need to file anything with the government?

Depends on how exactly the arrangement is documented.
 
As far as notarization, that's merely a way to evidence that a signature is genuine. It doesn't magically make a document "legal" if it wasn't otherwise "legal."

This is true, but to expand on it...

Some documents do require notarization in order to be "legal". The attorney that is consulted in this matter would be the best person to give advice on whether or not any documents related to this matter must to be notarized.
 
How long has he been you boyfriend? How old are you? Do you and he share minor children? Is there a reason you and he haven't married?
We been together for almost 3 years. Living together for 2 and a half. I'm 45. We have no children together but each have a child from previous relationship and he has no desire to get married.
 
We been together for almost 3 years. Living together for 2 and a half. I'm 45. We have no children together but each have a child from previous relationship and he has no desire to get married.

I've got socks WAY older than your relationship. I don't see why you think you should have any rights to the house.

Who brought up this whole idea and under what circumstances?
 
I've got socks WAY older than your relationship. I don't see why you think you should have any rights to the house.

Who brought up this whole idea and under what circumstances?

Funny you should mention that. The other day I saw a picture from a trip my wife and I took about 8 years ago. I saw the shirt I was wearing in the picture, then looked down and saw that I was wearing the same shirt!
 
Funny you should mention that. The other day I saw a picture from a trip my wife and I took about 8 years ago. I saw the shirt I was wearing in the picture, then looked down and saw that I was wearing the same shirt!


My wife regularly comments on my attire.
She loves clothes, and has closets full of them to prove her dedication to that craft!
I, on the other hand, rarely "dress up", as my wife says.

I laugh and say, "No, but I'm damn good at dressing down."
 
My boyfriend is 52. We don't have lots of money or lots of assets. I just want to be able to live in his house for a little while in the event of his, hopefully not for a long time, passing so that I may have time to find a place for me and my son to live. I'm trying to be prepared for the unexpected.
 
My boyfriend is 52. We don't have lots of money or lots of assets. I just want to be able to live in his house for a little while in the event of his, hopefully not for a long time, passing so that I may have time to find a place for me and my son to live. I'm trying to be prepared for the unexpected.

Then he may be better served with a trust instrument that gives you a certain time in which you can live in the house in the event of his passing. That would make more sense for him.

He should speak to an estate planning professional.
 
My boyfriend is 52. We don't have lots of money or lots of assets. I just want to be able to live in his house for a little while in the event of his, hopefully not for a long time, passing so that I may have time to find a place for me and my son to live. I'm trying to be prepared for the unexpected.
Your opening post said you wanted a "lifetime right of occupancy".

So which is your goal...to get a few months to find other housing or the legal right to live in the home till you pass away?
 
I just want to be able to live in his house for a little while in the event of his, hopefully not for a long time, passing so that I may have time to find a place for me and my son to live.

If that's all you want then I'm sure that his son will give you the same 30 days that any other tenant is entitled to. Maybe even 60 or 90 if you ask him.
 
I've got socks WAY older than your relationship. I don't see why you think you should have any rights to the house.

I'm curious why you think the OP thinks she "should have any rights to the house." The OP wrote that she "asked and [her boyfriend] agreed to . . . [give her a] lifetime right of occupancy." That she asked implies that she does not think it's anything that she "should have." Nothing wrong with asking and, hey, he said yes.

I just want to be able to live in his house for a little while in the event of his, hopefully not for a long time, passing so that I may have time to find a place for me and my son to live.

Well..."you get a year after his death to move out" is a far cry from a "lifetime right of occupancy" (but again, there was nothing wrong with you asking).

As I and others have said previously, he should be seeking advice from an estate planning attorney.

Then he may be better served with a trust instrument that gives you a certain time in which you can live in the house in the event of his passing. That would make more sense for him.

Agree, although this trust angle is only one of several options that exist.
 
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