My stepfather lived on my mothers land after she died for 10 years, paid the land notes and paid the taxes. My mother had no will. My stepfather willed everything to me. Can the land be claimed as part of his estate?

If your stepfather lived there with the permission of your mother's heirs then his estate would not be entitled to ownership by adverse possession. One of the main requirements for taking ownership by adverse possession is that the person lives there without the owner's permission.

And often 10 year is not long enough in most places.

I guess who inherited the property at mothers death, the step father, if married to her may have a good legal claim.

So how was the deed made when mom was alive ? Was step dad on it, Was there an estate and probate at moms death. Who actually became owner of the house at moms death.

The property was on contract for deed, they were divorced, and my step-father was living in his mobile home that has since been repossessed. I paid the land off after his death, but the deed has never been finalized.

Who was the contract with? Was it ever completed? If not, the land is still owned by the seller.

I have recently been in contact with the people who hold the contract for deed. They want me to have the property, I am just not sure how to proceed. There are back taxes that are due that I had quit paying because I thought I could not get the deed. I am willing to work on getting the taxes paid again if I am able to get the deed. Just wondering if I am going to have any legal roadblocks.

Again, who signed the original contract?

My mom and step-dad.

Ok, a contract for deed is not like they owned it, they merely had a contract to purchase, and it was in both of their name.

So the heirs of your step dad could have a right to come in and ask for the contract to be completed.

But you need to to have the owner do a amendment to the contract and sign over the deed to you.

You will need to get with the tax office to pay the taxes ( but of course the taxes are still in the original owners name, or at least suppose to be.

What Chuck said. Since your stepfather was a signator and you are his heir, there shouldn't be a problem amending the contract to add your name.

Thank you very much for your advice. I think I know how to proceed with this matter now.

Good luck and keep us posted.

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Originally Posted by slwfehrle

I have recently been in contact with the people who hold the contract for deed. They want me to have the property, I am just not sure how to proceed. There are back taxes that are due that I had quit paying because I thought I could not get the deed. I am willing to work on getting the taxes paid again if I am able to get the deed. Just wondering if I am going to have any legal roadblocks.

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If they have no problem with letting you have title, simply get them to give you a deed. If the purchase price isn't all paid yet, you might want to sign a new agreemen with them. If they want, you could agree to pay the taxes, but usually the taxing authority comes after the land, not the owner, so that wouldn't be a problem.