Please help with my nightmare and here is the quick run down. i just don’t know what to do. this is in the state of Texas
My mom married a widower and they have both passed away.
mom been gone for 3 years and he has been gone for about 5 years
My Step Dad had previously married a lady that had 5 kids in a previous marriage. She died in the late 80’s.
When my Mom died i probated his and her will. He left everything to her and she left everything to me. When i tried to sell the house, the attorney said there are 5 other 50% owners. the community property laws then apparently gave everything to the children and not the spouse. Her kids got 50% of the house and the step Dad got 50% of the house. Sad because he bought and paid for it with his VA loan. Now the tax office because of the probabted will on record think I am the 100% owner and want all the taxes due from me and not the other 5. See the nightmare. I was told by the attorney that he contacted some of them and they didn’t want to sell the house and it could just rott. My apparent only way out was to petiton the court to do a force sale and take whatever I got. House is not worth much. say 30-35k.
Sad part was the real estate attorney that did the search wouldn’t take the case and my family lawyer wouldn’t touch it either. Help Me Please!!!!!!!!!
Sorry this is complicated to explain.I understand what you said but that is not what the attorneys told me. you are correct that step dad left everything to my Mom in will and her will left everything to me. i received the property in suscession of the prbabiting of the wills. I was going to do a quick cash sale of the house because i live out of town. The agents real estate attorney who did the title search after the inspection brought up the 5 kids and that they owned 50% of the house. My family lawyer who did the probating of the wills and the real estate lawyer both said that I have an undivided interest in the property. I would either have to get them to sign off or do a force sale. The real estate attorney said the 5 would not cooperate. i am not sure about the trumping part as at the time the lawyer said when the 5 kids mother who was married to my step dad first, died, the community property laws at the time gave everything to children not the spouse as it is today.
continued- TEXAS
short story- man and woman marry
woman has 5 kids from previous marriage
woman dies while still married with no will and community property law at time in the 80’s gives her half of the property to 5 kids not surviving spouse.
man later marries my mom
man dies- wills everything to my mom
my mom dies and wills everything to me.
i probate both mans and moms wills with high hopes of getting house that was paid for.
i try to do cash sale of house and real estate attorney said that their are 5 others who own half of house. he contacted people and they where uncoperative. says must pursue force sale and only attorneys get money. talk to family lawyer who probabted wills and he agrees. tax office because of wills say i am 100% owner and owe all taxes. I have no idea what to do. i just want to protect my credit and not fork over lots of money i dont have. basically i got screwed trying to do what was right. could have not probated anything and let it all go.
I believe I understand what you are saying and both my attorney who probated the wills of the step father and my mother and the real estate attorney who did the title search (Suppossedly) said the same thing. When the first wife died, her 50% ownership of the house went entirely to here 5 kids from the previous marriage. He kept his original 50% of the house. I am glad you mentioned the succession laws and I will reasearch some more. So from what I am told there are 5 people who each own 10% and I have 50%. undivided interest. the first article I think says the same thing. thats the problem. the tax office just went by the will and says I am 100% and owe taxes whereas in fact I only own half. I contacted AFX titlesearch and am having the entire property title searched. Least then i can give something to the tax offic attorneys.
I guess the question is then how do i prove or disprove joint ownership with right of surviviorship. i contacted a national title search company to see what they come up with. They stated they could pove exactly who owned the property. I am going on what the real estate attorney said when I tried to sell the house shortly after probate. When he ran the title search for the insurance to sell he found there were 5 others and told me I had to have them sign off on selling the house. the only problem is he wouldn’t give me their names other than the last name. he said they refused and the place could sit and rott as far as they cared. He said I could petition the court to do a force sale of the property because of undivided interest. My attorney who probated the wills agreed with him. What makes me mad as I told the my attorney before probate the house was the only thing of value. if I can’t get it then it is not worth the time and money. He said there should be no problem.
But there was a problem apparently. To me the title search should have been done before probate by my attorney but I did not think of it until later. He said after that there was no way for him to have known and told me I would be better off letting it go back for taxes and sold at tax auction since the other 5 would not sell or buy my half interest. I tried to get both attorneys to send the letters and do a force sale two years ago but neither one would accept the task. What the real estate attorney said he didn’t know why they didn’t want to sell and that when the force sale was done and attorney fees, court costs and sale fees that no one would get any money. Figuritively speaking as the house is only worth about 30k and the force sale would be for about a cash price of maybe half that. If I had know about the other 5 I would never have probated the wills and got involved. I am out 5 grand in back taxes and attorney fees and I can’t legally do anything with the property.
I appreciate your assistance. It has weighed on me heavyily. I tried to do some good for my current family. I probabted both wills, paid the back taxes and then when I tried to sell it was oooops sorry. I just wish I would have known and think my attorney should have told me when I said the house is the only thing of value. If I dont get that then it is not worth the money. He should have told me to do a title search then to verify that the step dad had clear title then told me. I am waiting still for the title search to be completed. I know the house was purchased under his VA loan and i saw the paper saying the loan had been fulfilled with his name on it. Haven’t seen a deed. the county tax attorney took it off the docket and said that depending on when the step dads first wife passed could affect the title sucsession. I dunno realy. I am a computer dweeb.