Q: My friend has been paying the taxes on 2 properties of his deceased friend. How can he acquire title to said properties?

A: Assuming that he doesn't have "color of title" (something in writing giving him a claim to the property), he must comply with Florida Statute 95.18 (entitled "Real property actions: adverse possession without color of title").

That statute requires that he make returns (regarding each property) to the property appraiser of the county where the property is located. There is a specific form he must use. Then he must continually possess the properties and pay the taxes for the next seven years.

A: Not very easily. A probate will need to be done and the property will go to the person mentioned in a Will or Trust, as designated on the deed or via Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will), so, unless they are specifically mentioned and unless they meet the lengthy adverse possession requirements, it is likely they will not own the property but that it will go to family either near or distant relatives based on all of the above. Paying Taxes for 2 years does not create ownership at this point. The starting point would be a conversation with a Florida Probate Attorney, at best they could hope to get their money back eventually via a probate and or sale of the property eventually, or look up adverse possession and hope for the best over another 5 plus years potentially. As you can imagine, this is an uphill struggle and not easily accomplished. You need to provide substantially more details and specifics per above for a more precise and applicable response based on all circumstances.