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Real estate property deeded to a minor

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bart1

Guest
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Texas

I have been talking with a couple who want to sell me a piece of land. They have not paid taxes on the property for several years, and do not want this to reflect badly on the child's future credit. They want to sell it to get her out from under it, but it does not appear that it was set up as a trust for the child, it simply looks as if it were deeded to her. The child will be 12 this month, and was left to her at age 3. How can the parents sell the property if it is under the child's name? Thanks for any help you can give -- Bart1
 


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bart1

Guest
could we?

Could the minor ( age 12 ) quit claim deed the properties to the parents, then sign a contract with the parents. Or can the minor sign the contract for sale?
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
bart1 said:
Could the minor ( age 12 ) quit claim deed the properties to the parents, then sign a contract with the parents. Or can the minor sign the contract for sale?

**A: no and no.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
MortgageGuru said:
You'll need to contact a Title company in Texas to get all of the paperwork squared away on that one.
**A: and how would the title company "square things away"? Would they have some sort of magic potion that would allow a minor to sign a deed and make the deed enforceable?
 
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bart1

Guest
Ok, homeguru and mortgage guru to neutral corners

Ok, let me see if I can explain what the problem is in clearer terms and then someone give me the next course of action... Thank you.

A grandfather deeded a lot to a grandchild of 3 to be part of childs college fund money. The parents begged the grandfather not to put the deed in the childs name but he did it anyway. The child is now 12, the grandfather has passed away years ago. The minor and parents live outside the state of Texas. There has been no taxes paid on the property since the child has had the deed in his name. The parents have contacted the county and asked them to please put the property through the sheriff sale for unpaid property taxes. County's response 8 years ago, "Don't worry we will foreclose due to unpaid taxes and sell the property", 9 years later still in childs name and still unpaid debt is growing. Parents want to get rid of the property and the harrassing letters sent by county.

The parents do not want to set up a Conservatorship due to cost. How can the property be sold?

I would appreciate any straight forward advice that anyone could give me on this matter.

Thanks for your time in advance.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
A Minor CANNOT legally deed property. Period. That is why they should have made certain this was done properly at the time. The property is now in minor's name. Minor can do nothing with it until they are legal adults. They cannot sidestep the law- a deed signed by a minor is NOT enforceable. Minor could sign the deed and come back in 7 years and claim the property because the deed signed by them would be invalid.
 
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bart1

Guest
thank you

Thank you for giving me a straight forward answer. I appreciate your time.
 

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