Can we sell a house left to us in a Will without contacting everyone related to him?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can we sell a house left to us in a Will without contacting everyone related to him?
My uncle left us the house in the Will. He had no children and his wife preceded him in death by 5 years. She had one son by a previous marriage. He died a few years before she did. He had 2 children from a failed marriage but had no contact with the children. No one has had any contact with his kids for over 20 years. Do we have to contact my uncle’s step grandchildren in order to sell the house? We were supposed to close on a sell today but the lawyer for the purchaser said we could not sell it without them signing off. We attempted to contact them after his death but could not.
Asked on June 21, 2012 under Estate Planning, Georgia
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If legal title to the home that you received under your uncle's Will is not in your name yet, you legally cannot transfer title of it to a third party by way of a sale absent court order to do so.
Assuming legal title to this home is in your name now, then you have no legal obligation to contact any third party about your intent to sell it.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.