Lifetime Maintenance Agreement: How Not to Lose Your Home to Fraudsters.

For elderly people in need of assistance, a lifetime maintenance agreement appears to be an opportunity to receive care and support in exchange for property, most often real estate. Under this agreement, the homeowner transfers the property to another person who is obliged to provide care until the former owner's death.

Formally, everything looks simple: one party receives care, the other receives an apartment or house. But the key point is that the property immediately becomes the caregiver's property, lawyers from the company 'Order' emphasize.

Although the new owner cannot sell or gift the property until the cared person's death, legally it no longer belongs to the elderly person. Therefore, fraud in this area is not uncommon.

'Fraudsters promise care for the elderly, but instead trick them and take their property away,' lawyers emphasize.

Risks of Losing Your Home Due to a Lifetime Maintenance Agreement

The main danger of a lifetime maintenance agreement is improper fulfillment of obligations. If the caregiver stops keeping their promises—does not visit, does not help, does not provide maintenance—it will be difficult to reclaim the home. Automatic cancellation of the agreement is impossible. The only way is to judicially terminate the contract.

But the court requires evidence. This means: recording violations, gathering testimony, confirmations, and keeping documentation. Without serious grounds, the court may not see a violation on the part of the caregiver.

How to Reduce Risks When Signing an Agreement

To protect yourself, lawyers advise detailing obligations in the contract. Clarity of formulations is your best defense. For example, not just 'provide assistance,' but specifically: 'visit three times a week', 'purchase medications twice a month', 'pay 10 thousand hryvnias monthly for food and household expenses.'

Additionally, the contract can foresee a control mechanism—mandatory reporting, involvement of a third party as an overseer, the possibility of auditing the fulfillment of obligations. Such detailing will help in case of conflict and make the agreement not just a formal paper, but an effective tool.

Based on a lifetime maintenance agreement, the transfer of property to the caregiver in exchange for care for the elderly person until the end of their life is possible. However, there is a risk of fraud in this area, where promised care turns into deprivation of property for the victim. Lawyers recommend entering into such agreements very cautiously, clearly stipulating the parties' obligations and providing for control mechanisms for their fulfillment.