property deed vs. will

[cscott369187]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My fiance and I are building a house on property given to him by his parents. On the property deed it states "Grantor and her heirs, successors,and assigns reserves a right of first refusal to purchase the property, in the event Grantee or any of his heirs, representatives, assigns or any other third party seeks to sell, depose, dedicate or otherwise transfer said real property" His sister, an attorney, says I will inherit the property if my fiance should die if he states it in his will, but if I chose to sell it, I would have to give his family first option to purchase it. Is this true? Or would his family inherit it? Also, he has a son and I have a daughter, both from previous marriages. If I were to inherit this property then die, could I will it to my daughter and his son or would only his son be entitled to it?

 

[divgradcurl]

His sister, an attorney, says I will inherit the property if my fiance should die if he states it in his will, but if I chose to sell it, I would have to give his family first option to purchase it. Is this true?

Based solely on what you have written, that sounds correct.

Or would his family inherit it?

If he has a will, and leaves the land to you, then the family will not inherit the land. If he dies without a will, then the family will likely inherit some percentage of the land.

Also, he has a son and I have a daughter, both from previous marriages. If I were to inherit this property then die, could I will it to my daughter and his son or would only his son be entitled to it?

You can will it to whomever you want -- it would be your land. The right of first refusal should only come in to play if you choose to sell the land, or give it away.

 

[BoredAtty]

On the property deed it states "Grantor and her heirs, successors,and assigns reserves a right of first refusal to purchase the property, in the event Grantee or any of his heirs, representatives, assigns or any other third party seeks to sell, depose, dedicate or otherwise transfer said real property"

That clause sounds like a violation of the Rule Against Perpetuities. If so, then the clause is void and you can sell it to whomever you choose.

If you want to sell the property in the future, and for whatever reason you don't want to sell it to your husband's family, you may want to have a real estate lawyer review the deed to be certain.

 

[cscott369187]

Based solely on what you have written, that sounds correct.



If he has a will, and leaves the land to you, then the family will not inherit the land. If he dies without a will, then the family will likely inherit some percentage of the land.



You can will it to whomever you want -- it would be your land. The right of first refusal should only come in to play if you choose to sell the land, or give it away.

Thanks for the info.

 

[cscott369187]

Property Deed VS. Will

Thanks for the info

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My fiance and I are building a house on property given to him by his parents. On the property deed it states "Grantor and her heirs, successors,and assigns reserves a right of first refusal to purchase the property, in the event Grantee or any of his heirs, representatives, assigns or any other third party seeks to sell, depose, dedicate or otherwise transfer said real property" His sister, an attorney, says I will inherit the property if my fiance should die if he states it in his will, but if I chose to sell it, I would have to give his family first option to purchase it. Is this true? Or would his family inherit it? Also, he has a son and I have a daughter, both from previous marriages. If I were to inherit this property then die, could I will it to my daughter and his son or would only his son be entitled to it?

You should hold this with your fiance as joint tenants with right of survivorship; thus, it wouldn't make any difference what the will said. Whoever goes first, the other one gets it.

The condition on the property is there no matter how you get it.

So if you survived your sweetie (he dies first) then the grantors have a right of first refusal.

By the way, this right language is very poorly written and could cause lots of problems.

YOU need to see a lawyer about the correct wording.

 

[seniorjudge]

That clause sounds like a violation of the Rule Against Perpetuities. If so, then the clause is void and you can sell it to whomever you choose.

If you want to sell the property in the future, and for whatever reason you don't want to sell it to your husband's family, you may want to have a real estate lawyer review the deed to be certain.

This phrase is very poorly written.

The grantor could live a hundred years after the deed is signed.

Then when the grantor dies, we would know immediately who the grantor's heirs were.

But "heirs" could mean everybody in the next century; so that would create a real mess.

 

[BoredAtty]

This phrase is very poorly written.

The grantor could live a hundred years after the deed is signed.

Then when the grantor dies, we would know immediately who the grantor's heirs were.

But "heirs" could mean everybody in the next century; so that would create a real mess.

It's not just heirs, but "heirs, successors, and assigns" (if that even makes a difference). A quick search of Ohio case law turned up Schafer v. Deszcz, 698 N.E.2d 60, 120 Ohio App.3d 410 (Ohio App. 6 Dist., 1997), which stated in part:

Additionally, the terms in Section D of the Declaration of Restrictions grants the right of first refusal to, inter alia, National Resort Lands, Inc. (the grantor) and all purchasers (the grantees) and their respective successors, heirs and assigns. Clearly, this language demonstrates that the right of first refusal is not personal to the grantee. Furthermore, the right is of an unlimited duration, and at the time it was created, the possibility existed that it might not be exercised until after the expiration of the period fixed by the rule against perpetuities, if ever. Therefore, the trial court did not err in determining that the right of first refusal in the Declaration of Restrictions was void.​