Q: Is it absolutely necessary to have a lawyer for the seller for a house closing?
House is owned (No Mortgage) and selling to Son.
A: There are many reasons why having an attorney is an essential part of a real estate transaction. Mainly, the deed that transfers the house to your son is a legal document that needs to conform with statutory requirements and be notarized/signed by an attorney, to be legally valid. The attorney will do much more than just prepare a deed and sign it, however. Some of these tasks include calculating adjustments, paying conveyance taxes and recording fees, working with buyer's attorney/mortgage company with regard to any information they need, ordering a payoff of a mortgage and ensuring it is properly released (not an issue for you here), preparing all other seller-required documents like a seller CD, 1099s, conveyance tax form, smoke and co detector affidavits, etc. It is always recommended to have an attorney represent you.
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