Starting in the Middle

My goal is to share stories of title problems I encounter and how they (hopefully) end up resolved. If you aren't an attorney, realtor, or title person  some of the terms I use will be foreign to you.  If you are an attorney (be aware, I am not!) you will probably get a laugh out of my mis-use of some legal terms. At times, I may seem a little glib about serious problems but I try to see the humor in the sometimes stressful world we live in.  So where do I even start? 

Right now, on my desk, I have a file where we find husband and wife in title but, alas, husband is deceased.  (every escrow officer's nightmare... dead people in title).  He left a will, leaving everything to his wife, but it wasn't probated.  My immediate solution was to file an affidavit of heirship.  In gathering the information for the affidavit, I found out that he fathered two children from a prior marriage.  That would make his widow and the two kids his heirs and we would need all of them to join in on the deed to sell the property.  This is not usually what the 2nd wife wants to hear and this file was no exception.  As a matter of fact, she is pretty sure that one, if not both, of the kids is in prison.  BUT... she says, he gave those kids up for adoption to their stepfather!  AHA!  Maybe I don't have to worry about them!  A quick check with the underwriter dashes those hopes.  Unless the termination of parental rights specifies that the kids don't inherit, this won't work.  How do we see the adoption proceedings?  They are sealed.  We have to ask a judge to unseal them, and from what I understand, it is unlikely that we would find what we need there.  So we move on to the next option... having an attorney file a muniment of title.  So that is where we are now.   I have buyers who are eager to close and even getting a little nervous about waiting this out and a seller that needs to get this house sold.  I have a call in to the attorney today to see if I can get a timeframe on how long this is going to take...

I am now longer suprised but am constantly dismayed at how many people do not understand how a will works.  In Texas, in order for title to real property to pass as the decedent set forth in their will, the will must be probated, either as a regular probate or as a muniment of title.  There are time limitations on doing those things, too.  I frequently have someone selling a property that was "left to them" and have to break the news that just having a will in hand doesn't make the property theirs. 

WORDS OF WISDOM FOR THE DAY... If you own anything and you care who gets it after your death, go to an attorney now for estate planning advice!