Yes, you need an attorney. I am wondering - Did Carson own the home outright without a mortgage? Or did Van sign to take over the payments of the mortgage?

What a despicable excuse for a human being.

If you've paid one thin dime for anything (insurance, taxes, made a mortgage payment, bought paint for the kitchen, made curtains for the den, etc), you may be able to file a mechanics & materialman's lien against the house.

I wish you the best.

Well not knowing any more facts than what you have said. The simple answer is no. I am not even sure you need an attorney, but contact one just to be safe. What he is doing is typically considered fraud. Most regions have a hotline for elderly abuse but they will often handle any capacity cases. Call them immediately, typically the county/district attorney will start a criminal investigation, which you can use for an injunction. I will warn you, if the situation is what you described, and there are no extenuating circumstances, he will probably be going to prison. Most jurisdictions are really cracking down on capacity abuse cases.

It's called "abuse of a vunlerable individual" and it's illegal. Talk to your fiance's case worker NOW and they can probably refer you to someone who can defend this.

If Van manages to get you into court before you get legal help, explain to the judge, WITH copies of the papers for discharge and everything, that Van drove his mentally ill, still recovering schizophrenic son from the hospital right to the bank to get him to sign over the property.

Look up your state's attorney General's office and see about "abuse of vulnerable persons" ... elderl;y, dementia, mentally or physically vulnerable ... it's ALL illegal.

Aren't there 2 sides to every story? What if Van had contributed funds to the house in the past? What if Van felt that Leslie was going to take advantage of Carson with regard to the house and figured he had to get his name on the house as quickly as possible to protect Carson's financial investments?

Lots of unknowns to be able to take sides, but if it happened as descrbed, then leslie needs to make some calls as quickly as possible.

Looks like Chispa nailed this one!!!

Back in 2015...

Looks like Chispa nailed this one!!!

Was there an update that is now missing? I don't see how chispa's post nailed it without more information. I don't see how it matters if Van felt he was protecting Carson from Leslie, there is no legal basis for making that decision unless the court has stepped in and ruled that Carson lacks capacity and appointed Van as guardian.

Even in fiduciary relationships, the agent can't override the wishes of the principle, just because they believe it is the best thing for the principle.

Maybe someone from Texas can explain how a bank can facilitate the transaction. In CA, deed and title are administered by the county.

I too wondered if there was a deleted comment. As far as how a bank can facilitate the transaction they can notarize the bill of transfer/sale. Here we generally go to a title office to finalize a sale/transfer not to the county office. After that you are correct about deed and title being administered by the county.

There was a comment that brought the post up to the top. It was really suspect, and someone flagged it, with good reason, IMO.

Yes, there was a post by someone that Googled the OP's name and came up with what looked like the other side of the story. Maybe, maybe not.