Q: A title company will not sign off on the sell of our property due to a siblings that has been out of reach for 20 yrs.
yes. Have a will, and in article 3 of the will it gives my brother the title of personal representatives for the estate. It also say that he is free from the control and supervision of the courts to make the decision on the estate. Now the title company says we need to file a sale of division with the court in order to sale the house and the buyer obtain the title to the property. We have everyone listed on the will, and have setup provisions for the sibling that is MIA. The will was never probated because of the clause in the will that stated and I quote: I direct that they shall be free from the control and supervision of any court.
A: The title company may be correct. If the property did not move through probate and the title documents were not handled correctly it is possible that multiple people hold fractional ownership interests. If there is a will or other document that has the power to transfer title or create a form of equitable title, then a sale for division or partition case may solve the issue. As part of that action, a court may quiet title to the property, order the property sold at a private sale, and disburse the proceeds to the rightful owners. The feasibility of a Partition action or Sale for Divison action may depend on your particular circumstances and the documents in question. You should contact an attorney that does real estate litigation for a full evaluation based on your specific case.
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