Snellville, GA asked in Real Estate Law and Estate Planning for Texas

Q: Property in dayton texas. Is it required for Executor to do a document adding names to deed with approv of current heirs

Grandfather owner of land,had a WILL naming 6 heirs. My mother past1983 & my Grandfather past 6mo later. The 5 heirs left agreed to add my Mom 4children on as heirs.Probate was done 1984. Fast forward the Executor has past away recently and their are 4 heirs left, 3 sisters & Spouse of recent brother that passed, not including my Mom4. Our position as never been questioned before, But now the heirs are wanting to Sale Property and 1sister is saying " can't sale unless heirs are on Title/ Deed. Was there suppose to be a document done years ago to add us???

Even though we have paid taxes and paid to clear land when asked... Is Their a clear answer to this matter. Or do we walk away because 1 no longer wants us as part...... The other heirs are very upset and want to list property but want us to have my mom share.

2 Lawyer Answers
John Cucci Jr.
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Answered

A: Yes!

It would have been great and easy if someone would have reduced everyone's intentions to writing.

Since that did not happen, you do need to clear up the Estate and wrap it up also.

The good news is if everyone works together, the solution would be relatively easy. If you need to assert your rights via your mom, you can do so with a Motion to the Surrogate Court.

The attorney fees would be about the same in both instances. The fact that you have paid property taxes is an important factor for the court, when it comes to "crunch time."

Get a good lawyer who knows successions, etc.

Good Luck!

John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
Answered
  • Frisco, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: It would have made things so much easier if there were.

Ordinarily, in a will, the maker leaves property to his heirs “per stripes.” That means that if an heir dies (your mother) before the maker of the will (your grandfather), that heir’s share passes to her heirs (you and your siblings).

Assuming that to be true in your situation, your mother’s 1/6th passed to her four children, so each owns 1/24th.

Hopefully, the brother who recently passed left a will giving his share to his surviving spouse.

If you sell the property, the title company should be able to insure clear title to the buyer as long as everyone in the chain of inheritance from your grandfather’s will signs the correct paperwork.

If even one person objects, there may need to be a suit for partition.

Even if there were an executor’s deed correctly naming all of the heirs, you would need a suit for partition if any single one objects.

On the front end, I would have recommended to your grandfather putting the property into a trust with a single trustee and his heirs as beneficiaries of the trust.

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