My question involves real estate located in the State of: Massachusetts
So I found this land I wanted to buy. It was a dream come true. The online data said the owner was local so I knocked on her door and got the story:
The land was originally owned by her "Father" and "Auntie", 50/50. "Father" gave "daughter" his half in 1993, 11 years before he died. That half is well settled and all is well. If you look up the deed today it says Daughter and Auntie own the property, except that Auntie died in 1996 without transferring anything. Her children (Cousins A, B, C & D) would or should each own an 8th but didn't feel a need to probate her will IF she even had one. Her oldest, Cousin A died in 2012, and even his will hasn't been probated. His "Wife" thinks she owns his 8th of the property. This is assuming either Auntie or Cousin A had wills. What little I have found about limits on probating a will say 1-3 years.
The property is just sitting unused at the end of a street with no buildings, no residents, and the family has no interest in doing anything with it. They've discussed selling it, but none of them really need the money, nor want contact a realtor and deal with the hassles associated with selling it because the property isn't worth enough for any of them to bat an eye at. The tiny bit of taxes they pay doesn't bother anyone's accounts, and they apparently just don't care to deal with anything that could be a hassle, like executing wills, probate, etc.
Now the question, since no one's been probated, who owns the second half of the property? If you look up the deed today, it says Daughter and Auntie.
Daughter clearly owns 50%. Is Auntie's 50% even valid anymore? If so, who owns it? They've all been paying the taxes, the lien searches have all come back clear, but my lawyer says it's been stuck in title search for two months now.
The choices are:
A: Daughter owns 100%, because no one probated Auntie's will since she died 22 years ago.
B: Daughter owns 50%, Cousins B, C & D also own 16.66%, because Auntie's will could still be probated, but Cousin A has passed before the will could be executed.
C: Daughter owns 50%, Cousins B, C & D and Wife own 12.5% because that's what they believe.
D: [Insert legal insanity here]
Thanks!
So I found this land I wanted to buy. It was a dream come true. The online data said the owner was local so I knocked on her door and got the story:
The land was originally owned by her "Father" and "Auntie", 50/50. "Father" gave "daughter" his half in 1993, 11 years before he died. That half is well settled and all is well. If you look up the deed today it says Daughter and Auntie own the property, except that Auntie died in 1996 without transferring anything. Her children (Cousins A, B, C & D) would or should each own an 8th but didn't feel a need to probate her will IF she even had one. Her oldest, Cousin A died in 2012, and even his will hasn't been probated. His "Wife" thinks she owns his 8th of the property. This is assuming either Auntie or Cousin A had wills. What little I have found about limits on probating a will say 1-3 years.
The property is just sitting unused at the end of a street with no buildings, no residents, and the family has no interest in doing anything with it. They've discussed selling it, but none of them really need the money, nor want contact a realtor and deal with the hassles associated with selling it because the property isn't worth enough for any of them to bat an eye at. The tiny bit of taxes they pay doesn't bother anyone's accounts, and they apparently just don't care to deal with anything that could be a hassle, like executing wills, probate, etc.
Now the question, since no one's been probated, who owns the second half of the property? If you look up the deed today, it says Daughter and Auntie.
Daughter clearly owns 50%. Is Auntie's 50% even valid anymore? If so, who owns it? They've all been paying the taxes, the lien searches have all come back clear, but my lawyer says it's been stuck in title search for two months now.
The choices are:
A: Daughter owns 100%, because no one probated Auntie's will since she died 22 years ago.
B: Daughter owns 50%, Cousins B, C & D also own 16.66%, because Auntie's will could still be probated, but Cousin A has passed before the will could be executed.
C: Daughter owns 50%, Cousins B, C & D and Wife own 12.5% because that's what they believe.
D: [Insert legal insanity here]
Thanks!
Title History: How Screwed Am I (Seller's Failure to Probate)
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