Property partnerships between parents and children – whether arising from joint purchase, gift of a partial interest, or inheritance planning – have unique characteristics that distinguish them from partnerships between strangers. Family relationships add both complexity and opportunity to the dissolution process.
How Parent-Child Property Partnerships Arise
These partnerships typically arise through: parents buying property jointly with a child, parents gifting a partial interest in their property to a child for estate planning purposes, or a child providing financial support to parents who register a share in their property.
Each origin creates a different legal and emotional context for any future dissolution.
The Trust and Expectation Dimensions
Parent-child property relationships are typically characterized by high levels of trust and often informal arrangements. Documented agreements are frequently absent or incomplete. When relationships change or parties disagree, reconstructing the intentions and understandings from the beginning is challenging.
Protecting Elder Parents’ Interests
When an elderly parent’s property is involved in dissolution proceedings, ensuring the parent’s interests are properly protected is paramount. This means not just their financial interests but their housing security and quality of life.
Courts are particularly vigilant about protecting elder property owners from exploitation by family members.
Protecting Adult Children’s Interests
Adult children who have invested financially or through labor in a parent’s property deserve recognition of that contribution. When parents want to dissolve a joint ownership arrangement in ways that do not give the child adequate credit for their contribution, the child needs legal protection.
Resolution Without Litigation
Family mediation is particularly valuable in parent-child property disputes. Preserving the family relationship while resolving the property issue is possible through sensitive, skilled mediation that acknowledges both the legal and personal dimensions.
