Q: Trying to claim house with no heir , a third party paid the county taxes, if I pay the city taxes do i have equal claim
A: Payment of taxes does not entitle the person paying to any special rights in the property ( except perhaps a right to be reimbursed for paying those taxes). I would be very happy if you would pay my taxes, so feel free to do so if you want- but by doing so you are just making a gift. Tennessee has a statute that says a person who pay taxes for over 20 years is "presumed" to be the owner- but that presumption can be overturned. Its extremely rare for someone to die without ANY heir, there's almost always some distant kin. Rather than pay the taxes, I would spent the money trying to locate some family who might be willing to sign a quitclaim deed to you.
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