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Odd Situation- Real estate

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Ditavonvou

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas


Hi, I hope someone can tell us where to go with this or what direction to take if there is any.

My husbands great grandmother had a house in her deceased husbands name. She then passed away. We lived in the house for 10+ years and did maintenance and paid the taxes- the home was already paid for.

No one ever probated their estates or did anything with them. He house remains in the deceased great grandfather's name. He has been dead over 20 years.

There is uncertainty as to if the great grandfather was married before the great grandmother and if he had any children from that if he was married,

The great grandmother has 1 son- my husbands grandfather- who says we can have the house that is not in his name.

Is there anyway to get the house in the grandfathers or my husbands name? If so what do we need to do.

Not sure if it matters but we are in Texas.

Thanks for any input Dita
 


L

latigo

Senior Member
It matters a lot in which state the property is located, as I will explain.

Even though your post is not definite, by that I mean your use of the past tense “We lived in the house for 10+ years” - I’m gong to assume that you continue to occupy the home.

Probate is definitely not the answer. Not even if you could probate the great grandfather’s estate at this late date. And then it would be questionable just how the property would descend.

I think your only solution is to quiet title in your names under the doctrine of adverse possession.

Under these circumstances the prescriptive period in Texas is 10 years and perhaps 5 where taxes have been paid . * (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16 Section 16.024)

That is a bit complicated as are the speciific requirements to prove up under a claim of adverse possession.

But suffice it to say that if a person has “held the property peaceably and adversely and cultivates, uses or enjoys the property” for a continuous period of ten years -

Then no other person can assert a priority claim to the property.

You will need to consult with a Texas attorney experienced in quieting title who can explain the process. Unfortunately it is a lengthy and expensive process. But certainly cheaper than purchasing similar property.

Good luck


[*] Why it matters is that in other states the prescriptive period is as much as 30 years.
 
D

Ditavonvou

Junior Member
the property is in TX

we moved out of it about a year ago but have been doing upkeep and paying taxes, no one is currently living in the home

we originally occupied the property as my husbands grandparents did not want the home empty and said we could have it.


Last appraisal was around $88k on the property
 
S

sam02135

Member
latigo said:
It matters a lot in which state the property is located, as I will explain.

Even though your post is not definite, by that I mean your use of the past tense “We lived in the house for 10+ years” - I’m gong to assume that you continue to occupy the home.

Probate is definitely not the answer. Not even if you could probate the great grandfather’s estate at this late date. And then it would be questionable just how the property would descend.

I think your only solution is to quiet title in your names under the doctrine of adverse possession.

Under these circumstances the prescriptive period in Texas is 10 years and perhaps 5 where taxes have been paid . * (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16 Section 16.024)

That is a bit complicated as are the speciific requirements to prove up under a claim of adverse possession.

But suffice it to say that if a person has “held the property peaceably and adversely and cultivates, uses or enjoys the property” for a continuous period of ten years -

Then no other person can assert a priority claim to the property.

You will need to consult with a Texas attorney experienced in quieting title who can explain the process. Unfortunately it is a lengthy and expensive process. But certainly cheaper than purchasing similar property.

Good luck


[*] Why it matters is that in other states the prescriptive period is as much as 30 years.
Click to expand...

He is right about which state the property is in .. I believe MA is 19 or 20 years. It's called a Squatter's Rights... a tricky way to do it, but you have to prove you still live there at the moment in time.
 
S

sam02135

Member
Ditavonvou said:
the property is in TX

we moved out of it about a year ago but have been doing upkeep and paying taxes, no one is currently living in the home

we originally occupied the property as my husbands grandparents did not want the home empty and said we could have it.


Last appraisal was around $88k on the property
Click to expand...

Then you have lost that time table and will have to start the clock running again...

Adverse possession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
justalayman

justalayman

Senior Member
Ditavonvou said:
the property is in TX

we moved out of it about a year ago but have been doing upkeep and paying taxes, no one is currently living in the home

we originally occupied the property as my husbands grandparents did not want the home empty and said we could have it.


Last appraisal was around $88k on the property
Click to expand...
why did you move out?
 
D

Ditavonvou

Junior Member
we bought a home and moved to be in a better school district for my children.


So what you are implying is that since we do not physically occupy the property (although we do all maintenance and pay the taxes) this would not be an option for us

bummer
 
justalayman

justalayman

Senior Member
I suggest you might still be able to claim possession as you still express control over the premises but the problem I see is your presence in the home was permissive by whom you believed had the rights to give permission. There was no intent to possess the house contrary to the owners intent.


all I see is a resident tenant by permission.

Now, that doesn't mean you can't still end up with title to the house but it, in my opinion, changes how you get to the end of the road.

I would suggest you speak with an attorney that deals with real estate and probate. The fact that grandpa is willing to bypass ownership and allow you to take title to the home may work in your benefit but I would suggest due to the fact you have no idea who might be an heir to great grandpas estate, actually reaching the end of the road might be a tough road. If there were no heirs such as you spoke of in your first post, it might not be that big of a problem.


speak with an attorney.
 
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