My father is old and he didn't want to live alone or a home.
So he decided to sell home and live with us so we could look after him, but our house was small so we sold our home.
So dad gave us money from the sale of his house as a gift.
So we bought a house and put the house in our names not dads.
My question is after dad passes away, can family members take our house away from us?

Hi Graham,

I'm no lawyer but I'd be surprised if family members could take your house away from you. Perhaps if they could somehow prove you coerced your dad into gifting the money to you against his will the perhaps they could. I'd pay a visit to a local lawyer to be on the safe side.

One thing that you'll want to watch though is if your dad is on the age pension, there are limits as to how much he can gift without impacting his age pension.

The better outcome may actually be to create a granny flat right, which is quite common in situations such as yours where your dad has effectively contributed towards the cost of the new house. Again, another complicated area where you should seek personal financial advice but could mean your dad isn't caught up with the gifting rules.

Let me know if I can be of any further help.

Regards
James

Hi Graham,
I too would strongly suggest you contact a Lawyer ASAP as this is NOT an open shut situation. Pick up the phone and call a lawyer you trust.
These sorts of situation can have time bombs ticking away just waiting to come back at the worst possible times and bite you in the ... bottom...
As James mentioned above, you have other avenues you can look at as well. Discuss these with your Lawyer as the more info you can give him/her, the better advice they can give you.
Good luck Graham, sing out if you need and further questions answered...

Graham