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I have been paying the taxes on a parcel of land in california for the past 10 years, this land was to be givn to me by my godmother; however she passed away before she could sign the documents. My question is what should I do to have the property transfered into my name and take legal ownership?
State/Country relating to Question: California Already Tried: nothing
Good evening.....If your grandmother did not sign documents conveying title to this piece of land during her lifetime, then upon her death, the property transferred by her will if she had one, and by the California intestacy rules if she did not have one. The will or the intestacy rules, whichever is applicable, will have also designated the executor/representative to be charged with handling your grandmother's affairs. That person would have handled the administration of the estate---accumulating the assets, paying the bills, and then distributing the excess assets to the beneficiaries. If you were named a beneficiary of this land, the executor/admininstrator would need to sign the deed transferring the property to you. If someone else inherited the property, that person would need to quitclaim deed it to you.
I hope this has given you the guidance you were seeking. I wish you the best of luck!
The information given here is not legal advice. As all states have different intricacies in their laws, the information given is general only. This communication does not establish an attorney-client relationship with you. I hope this answer has been helpful to you.
I wish it were that simple, the court appointed admininstrator held this out of her will as she became a ward of the state and the property was not listed therein. Based simply on my paying the taxes for the past 10 years is there something that I can do?
Paying the taxes would give you the right to reimbursment if the property ultimately goes to someone else. Basically, the court-appointed administrator is going to have to take the steps necessary to amend the estate filings to include this property and then appropriately transfer the property as it should have gone. If he refuses, you will need to petition the probate court to compel the appropriate handling of this property. As it seems no one is particularly interested in it, your best bet might be to negotiate with the court-appointed administrator to sell it to you....if it isn't worth much he could probably avoid reopening the estate and transfer the property to you by deed and then distributed the proceeds to the appropriate beneficiaries.
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