Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Re: illegal sale of property....

Since she is not the owner, she cannot sell. Once she trys to , she waives her life estate.

Re: illegal sale of property....

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The title agent reviewing the title should readily see that the widow does not have the right to sell the property as title is vested in the children of the decedent. If the sale did take place, you would have a right to sue to get the property back, anyway.

Rather than rely on this, I would take the extra step of having a Florida attorney send a certified letter to Coldwell Banker notifying them of the failure of the widow to have title and demanding that the sale not proceed. I would enclose a copy of the deed with your letter.

Coldwell Banker will then have a duty to stop the transaction based on the knowledge they will possess. If they fail to act on it, they will be in violation of the rules of the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) and could face severe sanctions including possible loss of their license which I sincerely doubt they might risk.

Scott R. Jay, Esq.