I have kind of an odd situation in Florida. My grandmother passed away, leaving her free and clear home to my mother and her four siblings. One of my uncles was put in charge of the estate (I use that term for legal purposes only, the house is not worth much). He entered into probation of the will more than a year ago. He has lived in the property for eight years, and has paid the property taxes, as well as all utilities, during that time. Since the will entered into probate, nothing else has happened. The understanding was that, once the property was deeded to all the siblings, my uncle would buy them out of their portion, becoming sole owner of the home.
Nothing has happened in more than a year. The attorney helping my uncle will not return my mother's phone calls. My uncle will not return her calls either. I live not too far from the property, whereas my mother lives on the other side of the state. My question is, does he have any rights to the property? Is there any way he could take possession of the property without including the other siblings noted in my granmother's will?

No, first he will have to live there without permission of the owner, he is part owner already. Your mom needs to hire an attorney, and the other family members should have had one since day one, to push probate
And not to merely deed it in probate but to force the sell, he can either buy it, or it is sold to anyone and the money split.

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

Your mom needs to hire an attorney, and the other family members should have had one since day one, to push probate

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An attorney that is hired by us can push the probate? My uncle's attorney said that there are documents that my uncle has to sign, as executer (or whatever its called now in Florida) in order for this to move along. When my mother asked what happens if he doesn't sign, she was told there was really nothing we could do to move this along. Any input would be appreciated, as the more I know when I walk into a lawyer's office the better, since they charge by the hour...

If your uncle refuses to sign papers as required by law, the other heirs can bring an action in probate court to either force his signature or remove him as executor and replace him with someone else.

There is no legal reason for my uncle to put the house in the names of the heirs. It is a matter of the three siblings and their portion of right to the property. Two of the three want to be bought out; this cannot happen until the third (which happens to be the executer) choses to put the deed in their names. The state of Florida does not mandate that a property's deed is transferred to heirs - nothing can happen to the house (selling or refinancing) until this happens, hence my uncle not wanting to really move forward. The house can remain deeded to my deceased grandmother indefinitely, as long as the property taxes are paid and no other liens are brought against the home. That is why I am wondering if another lawyer would even be able to help... This is some great information, and if the need arises to go to a lawyer, I will be taking notes from this post. Thank you to all who have replied so far!

I'm not sure where you are getting your info, but its not correct. The executor of an estate has a fiduciary responsibility to process the estate according to the terms of the will. If the executor fails to do so, he can be compelled to do so by law.

If grandma left a will leaving the property to the siblings, then he has to follow the terms of the will. He can do this all in one shot. He can buy out the siblings getting a simple statement from them, then transfer the property from the estate to his name.

But if he does nothing, the other heirs CAN file a lawsuit compelling him to act.

So if the will indicated that all the siblings will have equal parts to the home, he HAS to put the property in all their names (or buy them out and put the property exclusively in his name)? If that is the case, I will contact a lawyer and have them push the probate. I do not see why this would take more than a year, considering the only asset that was listed on in the will (and the only asset my grandmother really had) was the house. I really do appreciate all the info that I am getting from all. This will help immensely when we need to take action.

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Originally Posted by TammyLynn

An attorney that is hired by us can push the probate? My uncle's attorney said that there are documents that my uncle has to sign, as executer (or whatever its called now in Florida) in order for this to move along. When my mother asked what happens if he doesn't sign, she was told there was really nothing we could do to move this along. Any input would be appreciated, as the more I know when I walk into a lawyer's office the better, since they charge by the hour....

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Hard to say why there is a delay - I am in NYS and there is a time before the estate can be closed. You can't open it today and close it tomorrow.

Is there a tax question or are there unpaid estate expenses?

I haven't done estate work in some time but when I did do estate work the preferred method (and the only method we ever followed) of handling the estate was: transfer the property according to the Will (new Deed) and THEN transfer it according to agreement between the parties (another Deed). This kept both transactions "clean" and there was never any question what the chain of ownership is/was.

For example, four siblings are willed the property. The property is deed from the estate to the 4. If one wants to buy out three (or whatever the arrangement is) that is handled outside the estate and between the parties, with a new deed filed.

If the Executor is either not performing his duties and/or causing the estate to lose value, yes, the Executor can be removed from his duties by the same Court that formally granted him the status of Executor.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

transfer the property according to the Will (new Deed) and THEN transfer it according to agreement between the parties (another Deed). This kept both transactions "clean" and there was never any question what the chain of ownership is/was.

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There are no outstanding taxes (or liens) on the home. There has been no deed filed for the property since 1976, when the home was purchased. I work in the mortgage industry, and thankfully know where to look for this information on the internet. :D

I was told that probate takes a while, but why nothing has happened in 18 months since the probate was filed, and no deeds have been recorded more than four years after the death of my grandmother, I have no clue. It sounds like I am going to have to hire an attorney in order to get this done properly...

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Originally Posted by TammyLynn

There are no outstanding taxes (or liens) on the home. There has been no deed filed for the property since 1976, when the home was purchased. I work in the mortgage industry, and thankfully know where to look for this information on the internet. :D

I was told that probate takes a while, but why nothing has happend in 18 months since the probate was filed, and no deeds have been recorded more than four years after the death of my grandmother, I have no clue. It sounds like I am going to have to hire an attorney in order to get this done properly...

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I'm sure you are acting on behalf of your mother because you have no legal standing.

(I quite honestly have no explanation for what is going on here - has your Uncle been a "family problem" in the past. Would that account for any of this? Sometimes old problems rear their head when it looks like an opportunity to play "gottcha.")

JudyKayTee, thank you so much for your input. He has never been a problem in the past, but money (or the semblence of) can do odd things to people. I am trying to get all the ducks in a row to help my mom out as much as possible.

Thank you, ScottGem and Fr_Chuck as well. I feel much better about the whole situation now.

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Originally Posted by TammyLynn

JudyKayTee, thank you so much for your input. He has never been a problem in the past, but money (or the semblence of) can do odd things to people. I am trying to get all the ducks in a row to help my mom out as much as possible.

Thank you, ScottGem and Fr_Chuck as well. I feel much better about the whole situation now.

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Good - and please come back and let all of us know how it worked out.