Inherit real estate without hiccups

Flickr image courtesy of HikingArtist.com.

DEAR BENNY: My wife has a problem you may be able to resolve. About 30 years ago her father died without a will. All the other six children had heard him repeatedly say he wanted the property to go to our daughter, who was a minor at the time. Five of them signed quitclaim deeds assigning the property to my wife, but one sibling who lives back east refused to sign.

My wife now has a deed with six-sevenths ownership. However, the county where the property is located condemned the asset because the roof came off, making it too dangerous to occupy.

After 10 years of having the property neglected, my wife and I began to restore the property, a small 2-bedroom home. We paid all the taxes for the last 30 years, and have put thousands of dollars into keeping up the property.

Is there any way to get a clear deed to this property so she can liquidate the house? We would like to know how to proceed. Since her sister refused to help pay the taxes or renovation costs, is there a way to force her to sign a quitclaim deed? --Paul

DEAR PAUL: Your father-in-law died many years ago without a last will and testament. Was his estate probated? In most states that I am familiar with, probate proceedings must be initiated so as to make sure that title is legally transferred to someone.

You state that five of the seven children have deeded their interest to your wife. But did those other five siblings have legal title to the property? You should have the title searched, and consult a local attorney for specific advice.

Assuming, however, that probate was accomplished, and title was vested in all seven children, you will most likely have to file a lawsuit against the seventh holdout.

You basically have two options:

• You can file a suit against the seventh person, asking that she be required to pay one-seventh of the various costs you have incurred, such as insurance, real estate taxes and improvements. Keep in mind that every state has a statute of limitations, ranging from one to five years depending on the situation. You will have to confirm the number of years in your state with your attorney. But this means that you cannot sue beyond the statute of limitations period.

• You can also consider filing a suit for partition. Every state allows such a lawsuit when two or more people own property and one does not want to sell. However, such litigation is time-consuming and expensive. The best that could happen is that a court would grant your request and order that the property be sold. You will be able to ask the court to allow you to recoup your expenses (again subject to the applicable limitations statute).

But, what is the property worth? It may not be productive to spend a lot of money and time on a partition lawsuit if the sales proceeds -- divided into seven parts -- is less than the litigation costs.

DEAR BENNY: I have owned and lived in my house for 20-plus years. The duplex next door is a rental, and the owner lives in another town and doesn't do maintenance to the property until a tenant moves out or something breaks. Our homes are close together and his paved driveway runs in between. The driveway covers his property from the side of his house to the property line. I have about 2 to 3 feet of space that is mostly plant beds.

The issue is the storm drain in the driveway. It is clogged and doesn't drain. The water will build up during a rainstorm and will start to drain into my basement coming under the foundation. This will continue until the water level has dropped.

I have asked this absentee landlord several times to have it repaired, as it is impacting my house. His answer is that it doesn't impact him and if I want it fixed I can pay for it myself. What recourse do I have to get him to do the repair? --Harry

DEAR HARRY: First, you have to make absolutely sure that the storm drain is not on your property. I assume that the "2 to 3 feet of space" you mention does not include the driveway.

Next, although the drain is on private property, have you contacted the appropriate county (or city) government agency to determine if they can be of assistance? In some jurisdictions, a governmental agency can issue an order demanding that the homeowner clean the storm drain. ...CONTINUED

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