Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

My husband is the sole heir to both his mother and brothers estates. There was no will for his brother and a home is involved, never married and no children. We are going to pay the home off off under the estate, do we have to buy it back or is it ours? I understand that most people pay $1-$10 to purchase it back, I'm so confused as to how this works, please help. We live in Maryland.


Asked on 6/01/16, 9:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Cedulie Laumann Arden Law Firm, LLC

If there is no Will, the property passes under something called "Intestate Succession." An estate must be open and the person with authority to handle the estate needs to be appointed as Personal Representative. After the Court has made this appointment, the Personal Representative needs to sign a PR deed. The heir does not own the property until the deed is signed.

There is no need for a sole heir to "purchase back" the property but the proper steps must be followed for a PR deed. Sometimes people put a nominal amount ($1 or $10) as a placeholder for consideration in the deed but there is no need to do so. An attorney can properly prepare this type of deed and make sure all the necessary affidavits and such are included.

Any competent estate or real estate attorney should be able to assist with this type of deed. You are welcome to contact my law firm for a no cost phone call of up to 10 minutes, or contact any other Maryland lawyer of your choosing.

While I hope that this helps, it is not legal advice or a promise to represent. Handling an estate may involve much more detail than described above but where there are no outstanding bills, transferring the property to a sole heir can be a relatively simple process.

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Answered on 6/01/16, 10:02 am


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