Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
My father inherited 30 acres of land in Pushmataha County in Oklahoma when his father passed in 2000; the land was originally purchased by his grandmother in the 1940's, and was in turn taken over by his father when she passed in 1985. However, the name on the title/deed was never changed from his grandmother, so all taxes are still being paid on the property in her name. We were interested in finally changing the name on the title/deed, but we are uncertain as to go about this. Would we need to go to OK in person to handle the changes? Or could we hire someone to take over at a distance, as we all currently reside in California?
Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can probably do this by mail, but you'll need advice from someone familiar with Oklahoma procedures, and perhaps even safer, someone who knows how this is done under local rules and procedures which may differ between counties in Oklahoma. You can try calling the Pushmataha County Courthouse in Antlers, OK at (580) 298-3626, and describe what you need to accomplish.
"Red-tape" problems may arise if any of the deaths (father, grandmother) were not properly handled through Oklahoma probate procedures at the time. If so, the process of re-recording the property ownership may require retaining local (Oklahoma) counsel.
In any event, you should be able to avoid traveling to Oklahoma unless you are curious about the property, want to sell it, or prefer to deal face-to-face with your local attorney (if you even end up needing one).
I mostly agree with Mr. Whipple. I only diverge from his opinion that local county procedures are likely to matter much or that your problems will only be "red tape" if the estates of your grandmother and father were not probated. If they had been properly probated, you wouldn't be asking the question you are, as the probate proceedings would have included transfer of title.
You don't mention where your father lived when he died. States vary on whether they will honor a probate in another state. I don't know what OK requires. California requires a separate probate if someone died residing in another state while owning CA property. So you are going to have to sort that out too. You will definitely have to probate your grandmother's and your father's estates in the state they lived in when they died. If that was not OK, you may or may not have to have an OK probate - that is a question of OK law. So the place to start is an OK probate attorney, and also one in the state of residence of each deceased, if it was not OK.
As for your ultimate question, however, I agree with Mr. Whipple that you should be able to do this all by phone/mail/fax etc. If any court appearances are required in probate court it is almost certain the attorney can do that without need for you to be there.