Transferring a house without purchase

[Alex SImon]

My best friend is facing some serious assaults on his wallet from his wretched, bilious harridan of an ex-wife.  It's some straight-up villainous stuff, no two ways about it.  Anyway, he's got this place up in Arkansas that he bought with cash as a kind of retirement home for when he gets done contracting.  Everyone can see that the ex-wife will come gunning for all his assets at some point, the house included, so he asked me if I would be willing to take ownership of the place so that she can't touch it.

I'd love to help him out so that he doesn't lose the house, but the question is how do I go about this?  Are you able to just transfer the title over to a non-family member, or does there have to be a sale?  

[Eric Metz]

For obvious reasons, I'd say to consult an attorney on this situation. Arkansas law is tough in terms of if an asset was purchased while married then it is owned by both the husband and wife. If your friend sells or transfers it without some agreement from the ex-wife first, then it is just a lawsuit waiting to happen. If the purchase was made after the divorce and no funds were used that were apart of the settlement or divorce order... then if he is somehow worried that she might come after the property... I would still talk to an attorney to cover all bases. There are a number of ways he can transfer the property to you. If he has a mortgage he can simply sell it to you sub2. 

Hope that is of a little assistance.