try it again...deed/title

[sparklem50]

What is the name of your state? California
As stated in last post that was somehow wrong, my daughter, through her deceased father,has been given a house, as stated in his will. The house mortgage was paid for upon his death. The executor of the will, has called my daughter, and says he has title and deed to said house.Being she lives 200 miles from said house, can she request that the papers be sent to her? If the executor refuses to send said papers, what recourse does she have?My daughter wants to put the house in my name, her mother, how can she go about accomplishing this?

We really need answers to the questions, as the executor being difficult in all aspects of the will.

 

[Dandy Don]

You or your daughter should ask the executor to send you a photocopy of the title and deed and you should mention that you will expect to receive the originals later. Please be sympathetic to the executor--he is busy in the midst of taking care of many details and much paperwork right now.

You also need to be asking the executor if the mother has any rights as a surviving spouse to a share of the home and whether mother's name needs to be added to the deed--if so, then this is an expense that will be covered by being paid for from estate assets. Give him a week or 2 to research the matter and if he has not gotten back to you within that time for a response, then consult your own probate attorney to get a second opinion about what you are entitled to.

 

[sparklem50]

re:title/deed

Thank you for your response, I had not mentioned that I am an ex-spouse of my daughters father. For legal reasons she wants to put the house in my name, her mother. There is no probate, the house is valued at 65,000. She desires to get everything settled quickly, so that is why she wants the original title/deed sent to her. Would she be better off putting the title in her name because it is hers by way of a will, and later quit claiming to me?You are so helpful in getting answers that I am looking.

 

[Dandy Don]

Yes she would be better off with the title in her name and later quitclaiming it to you, since as a divorced ex-spouse you would be legally prohibited from inheriting from your former spouse's estate. She would also be wise not to let the executor know about her intentions to later quitclaim it to you--just keep that a secret amongst yourself and have the quitclaim done a few months after the estate has settled and she has received the title documents.

 

[nextwife]

Two additional notes.

Is your daughter a minor? If so, in many places, minors cannot hold title to real estate. A trust or some other form of ownership might need to be used.

Second, it is really better if the deed gets recorded and the RECORDED docs sent back to you and she as the "return to" party on the deed. You don't want the originals floating around unrecorded where they may get misplaced. After title goes to her (or an entity on her behalf), any transfer out is up to her (or you and her).

 

[sparklem50]

You guys are super, great place for help. One last question, maybe...Who is to carry through getting the title/deed recorded, does the executor or my daughter?As an executor, does he have legal rights to said documents at this time or does my daughter deal directly with title company and get them? Can they send or fax the documents to her or must she go with the executor to the county recorder in that area?Thanks so much

 

[nextwife]

Well, she could provide the executor with a prepaid express mail (fed ex, UPS ground) envelope addressed to the appropriate RODs office (snail mail is not "trackable", so I never would want to use it for recordings), along with a cover letter requesting that the executor kindly provide your daughter with a copy of the original documents (deed and any accompanying forms such as a transfer return) that were being sent for recording. And request the tracking info so she knows what day the docs were recieved for recording. In several weeks, after recording is complete, the recorded deed would be sent to her by RODs office, if her name and address is provided in the "return to" portion of the deed.

OR they could be sent to her and she sends them for recording. I just never like to see original conveyance docs in the "regular" mail.

Make it easy for them to get it done correctly.

 

[sparklem50]

If I am understanding correctly, all the executor needs to do is send her a copy of these papers? She can work with copies and no need for originals, and record them herself? This executor is disgrunted, as he is related to the deceased, and not getting anything. The less he has to do with it the better, that is why I asked if he could get access to these documents being he is executor. One final note, my daughter doesn't even know the name of the title company, would that be a problem if he won't release the documents or follow through? Or would a title search be neccessary?

 

[nextwife]

I think you misunderstood. EITHER he can provide her copies of the originals he is sending for recording (recorded originals will be sent back to her) OR he can send her the originals, and she can have them recorded.

It is not a bad idea to have a title update done and have the title compnay handle the recording. If no title update has been done, one cannot know if the estate has paid off any debts/liens/judgements that may have attached to the real estate.

 

[Dandy Don]

The name and the address of the title company that did the search usually appears somewhere on the document--if not, then she can ask the executor who did it or look in the yellow pages to find the name of the local title companies.

 

[nextwife]

Has a current search been done? I did not see where the estate had done any current searches. Do we know that any title company has done any searching on behalf of the estate? I have found many people rely on the OLD title (from original acquisition) and fail to get any updated searches even though they should.

If executor claims the deed has already been recorded ANY title company can check the public record and let you know the status of the recording, even if executor will not inform you who handled the recordings. They SHOULD, however, have copies of the deed that was sent in, if it already had been sent.