Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 2-7-24

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An Unexpected Tenant
February 7, 2024
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
I 5
Law Matters
The mother
of a friend
of ours
died several
months ago.
Her mother
had left
her a house
in Jefferson County by way of a
beneficiary deed. A beneficiary deed
is a real estate deed you sign during
your life, but it isn’t effective until
after you die. It’s a way to avoid
probate. After the grantor dies, the
recipient files an affidavit of death
to make a record of the grantor’s
death to complete the transfer.
We prepared the affidavit, had the
client sign it, and then recorded it.
Our client also told us that a
cousin had moved into the house.
I asked why, and she didn’t know.
The client talked to the cousin to
tell her to leave, but the cousin
refused, insisting that the house did
not belong to our client’s mother
in the first place. The grandparents
had originally owned that house,
and there were several children. We
filed a petition to evict.
After the petition was served on
the cousin, I showed up in court
hoping the defendant would fail
to appear, and we would get a
default judgement. No such luck.
The cousin wanted a trial. She said
she was going to hire an attorney
(thank goodness). She also said that
our client’s mother did not own
the house alone but with the other
siblings. Very curious.
So, I asked my paralegal to see
who had owned the house before
our client’s mother. The problem
was that the record was incomplete.
So, we called the client to
ask how her mother got title to
the house. She said she wasn’t sure,
but that the title company had
prepared and filed the beneficiary
deed. We normally check title
before we prepare a beneficiary
deed, but not here.
The cousin has hired an attorney,
and we have a trial date. I
am worried that no one probated
the grandparents’ estates. If that
is the case, all of the children had
an interest in the house. That just
really complicates things. We’ll
have to see where this ends up. I’m
afraid we are going to have to do a
determination of heirship petition.
More court time!
Everyone’s experience
with estate planning is
unique and you don’t
always know what to
expect. Fred has gathered
some of the most
interesting examples he
knows into an entertaining
and educational book.
You Can’t Take It With You is available
to order online at www.law-matters.net
Fred L. Vilbig is an attorney with over 30
years of experience in the areas of wills
and trusts, small businesses, and real
estate. This column is for informational
purposes only. Nothing herein should be
treated as legal advice or as creating an
attorney-client relationship. The choice
of a lawyer is an important decision
and should not be based solely upon
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