Q: if an adult child has been living in dead fathers home and never changed over title and now its up for tax sale
as one of the grandkids what can i do if i want to pay off debt? more importantly would the city leave the house in my grandfathers name even knowing hes deceased. i dont want to put so much money into the property and it not be mine or for my uncle to than make an issue or try to claim it
A:
The city (or county) does not change title, so unless the family opened up an estate the title would remain in the deceased person's name.
Anybody can redeem the property before the tax sale foreclosure case awards judgment to the tax sale purchaser. As you point out, however, paying the back taxes and fees won't automatically make the person who paid the owner. Oftentimes in this type of situation the person who intends to pay might reach agreement with the heirs of the record owner so that they would disclaim or otherwise sign over their interest.
Several things usually need to happen before anyone can straighten out the title when property is in a dead person's name and facing tax sale. The taxes/expenses need to be paid, an estate must be opened for the deceased and a deed must be filed to transfer the property out of the estate to the heirs. Sometimes a second deed is necessary to transfer the property from the heirs to other relative(s). You may wish to consult with an attorney to get help navigating this process in your particular situation.
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