Clients sometimes ask me about selling their homes and putting the money into some form of joint housing with a member of their family. This "extended family" arrangement can be very successful. It gives a working couple a carer for children and it gives the elderly person someone to keep an eye on them and make sure they are well fed and secure.

However, lawyers see some of the ones that don’t work out. The common problem is that those involved (usually my older clients) have not had a good hard look at the things that can go wrong and what it will mean if it does not work out.

If you are an older person contemplating such an arrangement, questions you need to ask either yourself or others-

Who will own the real estate? Will it be owned partly by you or wholly by the family member? Remember that the owner of the land is the owner of everything built on it.
What if it does not work out?
Will I get all my money back?
What if money is to be borrowed from a bank to buy the new house?