Posted by Ed Copp (OH) on May 11, 2000 at 18:26:21:
RF,
Your father needs to do an Adverse Possession suit and an action to Quiet title both. It may be possible to combine the two. I would use a lawyer in the area where the property is located. Then he can give you a deed (clear title). The situation that you describe is fairly common in rural areas (this does not necessarily mean that it is cheap to fix) good luck…ED
How do I get a clear Deed on My Fathers Vacant Property ? - Posted by Rocker Fella
Posted by Rocker Fella on May 11, 2000 at 01:21:55:
My Father owns some property in Va. but it does not have a clear deed.
The property (about 4 acres of vacant land) originally belonged to his Grandmother, it had a house on it but it has now fallen to the ground. Anyway when the grandmother died my father began paying the yearly taxes due on it since the mid 1940’s and still pays them today. He says me and my brother can have the property if we can straighten out the deed. The problem is this…
He had 6 siblings all who legally had equal shares in the property even though he was the only who paid the taxes. All the siblings signed a document agreeing to reliquish their shares to him, but one of the siblings is dead and that sibling had a daughter my cousin, who now legally owns the dead mothers share in the property. The problem is no one knows where she is. She was from Philadelphia but was last know to be living somewhere in Calif. It has been 20 years since anyone has seen her, as you can see she was not close to the family. Anyway to to get a clear deed she needs to sign a document to relinquish her share. We cant find her and if we could she still might not sign. We tried searching via the web, but dont know where else to look. Lets say we document the fact the we tried to find her but could not, how can we then continue on to getting a clear deed. Also lets say we do find her but she refuses to sign what is our recourse. As it is she knows nothing of the property, dosnt even know it exists. The property is worth maybe $6k. Given this scenario, what is the best way to clear up this mess. We just need 1 signature from someone who cant be found. Is this a complicated situation or is there a fairly easy solution?
thanks
Re: How do I get a clear Deed on My Fathers Vacant Property ? - Posted by David
Posted by David on May 11, 2000 at 05:37:11:
if the document signed by all of the siblings is a quit claim deed, then record it. even if one is deceased, their signature fully executed and notarized is still binding.
if you don’t have quit claim deed then either a quiet title suit or maybe an adverse possession suit would clear the title. paying the taxes for the last 50 years would definitely be a plus in an adverse possession suit. In either event the suit(s) would require an attorney familiar with real estate AND quiet title and/or adverse possession.
hth