Q: Home listing -The owner is deceased and the agent says the “kids told him they have right to sell” How do we verify.
A: Eventually the title company will insure that the sellers have the right to sell. In the interim, you could ask if they have an order from the probate court making one of the children the personal representative of the estate.
Thomas B. Burton agrees with this answer
A: I agree with Attorney Greller, whoever is named as the Personal Representative of the Estate (if the owner died with a Will) or the Trustee of the Trust (if the home was held in a Trust) will have the authority to enter into contracts to sell the home. Ask the children for the Letters Testamentary issued by the Court to the Personal Representative for proof of their authority to sell the home to you, or if it is in a Trust, for a copy of the Trust document showing who the current Trustee is and their authority to sell the home under the Trust document.
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