How can I put my daughter's name on the deed and title of my condo in IL.

The easiest method to transfer an interest in real estate to create a co-ownership is by a quit claim deed. As long as the grantor is the owner of the property a quit claim deed can be used to transfer an interest to a co-owner and their title is absolute, subject to encumbrances. Once the deed is recorded in the land records it will establish title in the grantee(s) as it is defined in the deed. A sole owner can transfer a half interest to another person (or any other proportionate interest) or the sole owner can have a deed drafted that transfers the property to herself and the other person with the desired tenancy. A deed should be drafted by a professional to make certain it is a proper deed for your jurisdiction. Errors in deeds made by non-professionals can be costly to correct if they can be corrected.

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There are several ways to put your daughter on title. It seems your primary concern is being able to claim tax deductions therefore, I suggest that you first ask your accountant how title should be held so that you can legally claim your desired deductions. Then you should take that information to a real estate attorney who can properly put your daughter on title in the proper manner that will effectuate your plan.

I strongly urge you to use an attorney. Title work can be mystifying because there are legal terms of art that need to be understood. Your attorney can talk to your accountant--professional to professional--to make sure it is done properly. You may be trying to save a few hundred dollars on attorney fees but it may cost you thousands of dollars later.

When you say "the lawyer," do you mean the lawyer for the seller or your lawyer in the sale. I have a bit of concern with your trying to do this without a lawyer, simply because the language of deeds can be a bit mystifying.

With that caveat, you should be able to simply execute a deed from yourself to yourself and your daughter either as tenants in common or as joint tenants with right of survivorship. That deed then gets recorded. In theory you can take the deed from the seller to you and duplicate it but make it from you to your daughter and you, but again I think that is unwise. The cost of having a deed prepared is pretty modest.

You also mention that your daughter claims you as a dependent on her return, yet you funded a purchase of a condo. Is he in fact providing over 50% of your support? Unless that is truly the case that she is providing over 50%, claiming you could open her up to charges of tax fraud by the IRS.

I think you would both be well served by speaking with an attorney well versed in elder law who can help you both in the management and preservation of assets. Many older adults live with their children, of course, and more and more of us are living long lives. It is important to be certain, though, that neither of you do anything that could cause you grieve with the IRS and that all the steps you take are consistent with your long term goals, e.g., what happens to your property if you become unable to make decisions or what happens in the event of your death.