My brother, sister and I were raised by our great-aunt. She passed away nearly 10 yrs. Ago. The house and property she lived in at the time is still in her name. My brother has been taking care of upkeep and taxes for all of these years. And it was decided among the 3 of us that the house should be his. My question is this... she did not have a will, we were never legally in her custody. How do we/he go about selling this property? We are her only living relatives.
:eek:

Hello Beckyverne:

All states differ. However, in general, the probate court is where a will is executed in accordance with legal requirements. Even in those cases where the decedent died w/out a will, the probate court is the place to file your claims. As long as the living heirs are in agreement with the disposition of the property, you may be able to file yourselves. Check with the clerk of the probate court in the county courthouse where she lived.

If you are the only living heirs, the court will most likely give you the property. Then you may execute a quit claim deed to pass the property to the brother.

I changed my mind. (Sorry about thinking online) But I think you need an attorney. Make sure he can hanlde BOTH the probate part and the real estate transfer part. Again, this is only as long as you are all in agreement.

Shop around for a guy you like and has a reasonable fee.

By the way, I can't imagine how this didn't happen right after she died, but I'm not going to go there.

excon

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My advice is not legal advice because I'm an exconvict, not a lawyer. If you take my advice and then try to sue me for malpractice, good luck!