Q: My grandmother died in 1985 with no will but she made her wishes known to each of her 7 kids. Her grandchildren and even
her adult great children knew her wishes were for one of her daughters and her son in law (my mother and father) to have her house. The iems in the house went amicably to whoever wanted what. My parents lived in the house several times over the years and always kept the real estate taxes current. Several years ago the house was torn down and they still kept the real estate taxes (lot only) current. After my dad passed in 2014 my mother and I discovered the property was still in my grandmother's name. It had never been probated. The lot is worth, probably, 25,000 dollars. Is proof of taxes paid by my mother and my dad for all these years (35 years) enough for the court to rule my mother as the legal owner? If not, would probate be long and costly due to the years that have passed since my grandmother's death or will it be better for her to simply quit paying the taxes since it has never been legally hers?
A:
Probate will likely be necessary, but it should be cheap and quick. On the other hand, if the lot is the only property left in your grandmother's name and all of your grandmother's heirs agree to deed any right they may have in the property to your mother, you can likely avoid probate and instead file a simple Petition for Determination of Heirship, wherein the court will issue an order declaring who your grandmother's heirs are. That order and deeds from those court-declared heirs into your mother, once recorded, would be sufficient to vest title in her. The Petition for Determination of Heirship bypasses certain probate steps (like the appointment of a personal representative, notice to creditors, inventory of assets, etc.), which makes it quicker and cheaper than probate.
If all else fails, there's also the possibility of your mother successfully instituting an adverse possession lawsuit against your grandmother's heirs, depending upon the facts surrounding her possession of the home.
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