Q: Why does my home all of a sudden have to go through probate ? I've been paying Taxes, how can the house not be mine.
My step dad who was married to my mother sold me his house for $100. almost 10 years ago not long before he died. We had the sale Notarized and went to the court house and moved the Deed into my name. Here we are all this time later with me believing I own the home paying Taxes every year as the Tax bill has been coming in my name. I'm trying to sell my home now but the Title office is saying that the quit/quick claim deed that I have is worthless and my home has to go through Probate. They say this because my mother who was still married to my step dad when the sale took place and who died in December 2022 didn't sign off or something along those lines.
We didn't know that it was necessary for her to sign off or she would have.
This was her home until she died and knew that that the house had been sold to me and was in my name.
A: Quitclaim deeds cause more problems than they solve and this is one of the reasons why anyone buying or selling real estate should have an attorney representing them in the transaction. You will now need to hire a real estate lawyer, one with probate experience, to review the deed and advise you what needs to be done.
Terrence H Thorgaard and Phillip William Gunthert agree with this answer
A: Florida is very protective of Homestead Rights, especially the rights of a surviving spouse, so generally, without a spouse joining or agreeing, a Homestead cannot be conveyed without agreement/signature/approval of the spouse, since this did not happen, it is likely you will need to revisit a probate for your dad and or mom in order to get these Homestead property matter addressed and resolved. As part of the probate, a Petition and Order to Determine Homestead will likely need to be addressed, if you have siblings and there is no Will, this could further complicate matters.
Stephen Arnold Black agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
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