Here, a mother and son bought a residential property in 1990 and held the property as “joint tenants with right of survivorship.” At various times, the mother resided with her son in the house or lived with other relatives. From 2005 to 2007, the son claimed his mother as a dependent on his income tax returns. In 2003, the property was refinanced and re-titled. However, the new deed indicated that the mother and son were “tenants-in-common.”
The mother died in 2008 and the Iowa Department of Human Services filed a claim against her estate for reimbursement of medical assistance. She died owning one asset- her share of the home she and her son owned. At trial, the son claimed that he was the owner of the home, as they were joint tenants with right of survivorship. The son testified that he was the only one to sign the documents refinancing the home in 2003, that he paid the utilities, that he purchased the homeowner’s insurance policy, and that he paid all of the mortgage payments. But, the trial court found that the mother had, in fact, signed the 2003 mortgage and that the title as indicated on the 2003 deed controlled. Thus, the mother died owning an undivided one-half interest in the property.
The son appealed and the Iowa Court of Appeals questioned the son’s credibility and evidence. The 2003 refinancing and re-titling of the property conclusively showed that the mother and son were tenants-in-common and the son failed to present enough credible evidence to prove otherwise. In re Estate of Lovan, No. 1-038/10-1314, 2011 Iowa App. LEXIS 165 (Iowa Ct. App. Feb. 23, 2011).