Q: Property left as tenants in common. One sibling was listed co-buyer on mortgage. 6 acres of land. Co- buyer own home?

A: An attorney cannot realistically analyze the state of a particular title without looking at the estate filings and the deed. That said, I'll try to give some general information below that might be helpful.

"Title" and "Deed" are generally interchangeable terms when it comes to real estate ("real estate" meaning land and permanently attached improvements). The deed IS the title to the land. (On rare occasion there might be conflicting deeds and competing claims to ownership but your post doesn't seem to suggest that). If the post means title to the mobile home is in one name and the deed to the land is in multiple names, then it would be helpful to go back to the probate filings to see how these were disbursed out of the estate. It is possible that either by agreement of heirs (or perhaps without agreement if the mobile home was worth less than the debt against it), that the mobile home went to one person who assumed the debt. In the average estate, the obligation to pay a secured debt wouldn't go to one person with the collateral itself going to several other people. In other words, it doesn't make sense that less than all the owners would pay the debt on a particular asset.

Unlike a permanent home (which is part of the real estate), a mobile home is considered personal property the same as a car. So whomever owns the mobile home doesn't necessarily dictate who owns the land and vice-versa (the mobile home could always be moved somewhere else).

If you have questions about the title to a particular property or the rights of co-owners you are strongly encouraged to sit down with an attorney. In some cases title issues cannot be analyzed without doing a full (60+year) title search. An online post can offer general information but it does not substitute for getting personalized legal advice.

A: Your description is too convoluted to make any sense out of it, and you are confused about the significance and relevance of being on the mortgage versus having an ownership interest in real property.

Whoever is listed on the deed is an owner. Being on obligor on the mortgage does not confer ownership interest if not listed as an owner on the deed.

When co-owners on a deed own their interest as tenants in common, then upon the death on one of the owners, the deceased owner’s interest does not automatically become the property of the surviving owners. Rather, the share owned by the deceased owner passes to the deceased owner’s heirs, either by the terms of their will or by intestate succession if they had no will. The heirs become tenant-in-common owners holding the deceased owner’s interest in the property, together with the remaining tenant-in-common owners of the property.

Any joint owner on the deed can petition to force the sale of the property at any time, and receive their ownership share of the sale proceeds.

Title to the mobile home is separate from real property deeds. The MVA issues mobile home titles. Mobile homes/trailers are treated the same as motor vehicles. They do not have deeds. Whoever is listed on the MVA-issued title to the mobile home owns it. If that person is deceased, then the decedent’s estate now “owns” it, and it passes under the estate to the heirs of the deceased titled owner. If the title was held in more than one name, then unless it states otherwise, title is presumed to be held jointly with right of survivorship, meaning the surviving owner now solely owns the mobile home once the other joint owner dies.