I am buying a house from a lady who has the power of attorney from her father who is in a nursing home. She is selling his home. The land with the house is approximately 1.5 acres, but the land description on the deed does not include this much. The driveway and garage aren't part of the deed as it is recorded, but it appears from the research that no one owns it, and could have been taken by the state for taxes decades ago. The real estate attorney told us that the seller can file a quick claim in the courts, and after 60-90 days, the land her family has used for years (which includes the driveway and garage) would be attached to her deed. We checked with the tax assessor's office, and because of that office's mistakes years ago, the tax maps show the missing land as being attached to what is currently on the deed. Is this fixable, and is this quick claim a legal real estate process?

Are you sure your lawyer didn't say a "quit" claim deed? You might want to find that out first, and then if you're not happy with your present lawyer, get one you are happier with.

Ok, first it is quit claim deed, and second, if the father is alive, I would have them sign the deed, not the power of attorney. Not hard to have someone go over and get him to sign, normally nursing homes have a notary there, if not your attorney can easily arrange one to be there.

You do not know the trouble you can get into and deed issues ( since this is not a warranty deed) also why are they selling it on a quit claim, not a warranty deed to you, if they havve owed it for years. It is for your protection.

Next you get only that land that is on the deed. Not any other land that someone wants you to own.

Next all land is owned by someone, the state may own it, or it may merely be a "right of way"

And no, getting land by adverse possession is not as easy as it sounds, you have to file a motion in court ( not just a deed) to take the land, the real owner of the land ( as recorded in the deed office) will have to be notified.

Now also it does not matter what the tax assessors office shows or thinks, go to the deed office and see who has the deed to that other property,

If it was a deed errro, you can require the seller to fix the deed prior to selling it to you. If not you will have to file a moton in court for a quiet title, saying that you want clear ownership because of a mistake of deed or because someone is claiming owner ship they don't have.

But the tax assessor is the wrong place to be, the deed office is where you need to be. ( at least in every county I every lived in there are two separate offices)

So I would hire an attorney to work for YOU, to have it all in place before I bought anything,

Once you sign for the property, all you get is what is on the deed, all other land may never be yours if not cleared up BEFORE you buy

And if the owner is alive, have them sign, not power of attorney, or have power of attorney sign in presence of the owner ( or at least talk to the owner to be sure they are aware the property is being sold.

Dear Fr_chuck,

Since you have used many legal terms, I think it is important that you be careful not to make so many typos. For instance, I'm not sure if an "errro" is a legal term or a typo for the word "error" (par. 7) Please forgive me if that sounds obtuse, but legalese, as it were, has many terms that are counterintuitive which are not what we would think even though they sound weird. Further, are you saying that this person should get a "motion" in court, and/or a "quit" claim or a "quiet" claim? (also par. 7).

Congratulations on the number of postings you have made! Wow! :)! Cheers!