Lawyer Died, Title Missing, What do we Do?

[maddogyp]

What is the name of your state? California

My wife is trying to help her Parents with a property problem. My father in law was one of five grandchildren who were to inherit a piece of property with a unlivable shack on it. This was over 30 years ago. The Executor of the EState was and is my father in laws older brother. He was supposed to sell the piece of property and distribute the monies. He was in no hurry to do this and decided to let my father in law live, rent free, on the property until he sold it. The verbal agreement was that my father in law was to maintain the property and pay the taxes.

The older brother had a dispute with the attorney handling the probate and basically nothing happen with the property for many years. The attorney died and all the paperwork dissappeared.

It has now been over 30 years and my father in law would like to get the property in his name. He has made thousands of dollars of improvements to the home, paid the taxes and lived on the property all this time. He feels the other siblings would be willing to turn the property over to him but no one knows how to proceed.

We have no idea how to proceed. Any ideas would be helpful. We have contacted a couple of attorneys in the area and no one wants to even approach this case ( one attorney offered too but he wanted a 10,000.00 dollar retainer)

 

[nextwife]

Have you checked the courthouse to see who is NOW appearing in title and who would therefore need to be willing to deed their interest to FIL?

 

[Dandy Don]

Verbal agreements aren't worth anything.

Go to the county courthouse and get a copy of every document in the probate file so you can see what if anything was actually done on this probate and so that you can also leave the copies with any probate attorney willing to help you look into this. You should be able to find one after interviewing with about 5 or 6. If they don't want to handle it, get them to explain a reason why they don't want to.

Just because father-in-law WANTS it in his name doesn't mean he is legally entitled to it. Probate is needed on this property, and it is a simple probate so it's difficult to see why no one is willing to help, unless they just want a large fee.

Any probate attorney can handle this and they are entitled only to the allowable executor fee and you need to find out what that is by asking any attorney.

After probate is done and deed is in the name of the official heirs, the father-in-law's siblings can sign away their rights by quitclaim deed if they want father-in-law to be the primary owner. Does he want to sell the home or just continue living there?

 

[nextwife]

That estate may have already transfered title to the heirs. Which is why I suggested the first step is to obtain the last deed of record.

If so, no need for a probate attorney, only for a RE attorney to assist with any AGREED conveyance of the co-owners' interests. FIL can make a buy-out offer to the co-owners, if the estate deeded the propertry out to them..