Posted on: 12th Aug, 2010 07:20 pm
Hello, and thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!
The situation is as follows:
This is in the state of Florida. My great grandmother passed and the Will is MIA. All surviving heirs are aware of her death (in fact they all attended the funeral). She passes almost 10 years ago.
My mother has been living in the house and was taking care of my great granddad and grandmother here before they both passed. She has been living here for the past 14(ish) years. My mother did have Durable Power of Attorney for my great grandmother. My mother has been paying the taxes on the property. All concerned parties know that she is and has been living here since my great grandmother passed. Nobody has done anything legally to try and obtain the house.
I am aware of the following (and please correct me if I am wrong!)
1. Durable POA is pretty much useless now that great grandmother is deceased.
2. The property would be jointly owned by all remaining heirs since there is no will to go by.
3. If my mother wanted to gain the property by means of inheriting it, she would need to get the remaining heirs to sign over their rights to their claim.
4. There are at least 2 other survivors that would NOT freely sign over their claim to my mother.
---- Which leads me to this conclusion.....
5. Florida Adverse Possession law should let her gain the property because she has openly occupied it since great grandmother's death and she had been paying the taxes. Nobody has contested her right to live here. The statute of limitations on anybody's responsibility to inform the state or governing agency of the passing of the owner is 10 years. She should be able to get the property via this law.
Does this seem right? What are the first steps I should take? I know the answer is "See a real estate attorney". My mother is quite poor and I know she could not afford it. And what would be a reasonable ball-park figure to have to pay to get an attorney to do this? And could we do it ourselves without an attorney?
Again, thank you!!! =]
The situation is as follows:
This is in the state of Florida. My great grandmother passed and the Will is MIA. All surviving heirs are aware of her death (in fact they all attended the funeral). She passes almost 10 years ago.
My mother has been living in the house and was taking care of my great granddad and grandmother here before they both passed. She has been living here for the past 14(ish) years. My mother did have Durable Power of Attorney for my great grandmother. My mother has been paying the taxes on the property. All concerned parties know that she is and has been living here since my great grandmother passed. Nobody has done anything legally to try and obtain the house.
I am aware of the following (and please correct me if I am wrong!)
1. Durable POA is pretty much useless now that great grandmother is deceased.
2. The property would be jointly owned by all remaining heirs since there is no will to go by.
3. If my mother wanted to gain the property by means of inheriting it, she would need to get the remaining heirs to sign over their rights to their claim.
4. There are at least 2 other survivors that would NOT freely sign over their claim to my mother.
---- Which leads me to this conclusion.....
5. Florida Adverse Possession law should let her gain the property because she has openly occupied it since great grandmother's death and she had been paying the taxes. Nobody has contested her right to live here. The statute of limitations on anybody's responsibility to inform the state or governing agency of the passing of the owner is 10 years. She should be able to get the property via this law.
Does this seem right? What are the first steps I should take? I know the answer is "See a real estate attorney". My mother is quite poor and I know she could not afford it. And what would be a reasonable ball-park figure to have to pay to get an attorney to do this? And could we do it ourselves without an attorney?
Again, thank you!!! =]
Welcome zomgfilter,
It is true that as your great grandmother is deceased, the Durable POA is of no use now. Unless the heirs file an affidavit of heirship at the county recorder's office and get the property transferred in their names, it won't be jointly owned by the heirs. If your mother wants to own the property, it is true that she would need to get the remaining heirs to sign over their rights to their claim.
As far as adverse possession is concerned, your mother should contact a real estate attorney and take his opinion in this matter. The attorney will guide your mother in this regard.
It is true that as your great grandmother is deceased, the Durable POA is of no use now. Unless the heirs file an affidavit of heirship at the county recorder's office and get the property transferred in their names, it won't be jointly owned by the heirs. If your mother wants to own the property, it is true that she would need to get the remaining heirs to sign over their rights to their claim.
As far as adverse possession is concerned, your mother should contact a real estate attorney and take his opinion in this matter. The attorney will guide your mother in this regard.