Legal Question in Real Estate Law in North Carolina

This is a probate/elder law question, not a real estate question dealing with adverse possession. You adding new facts changes the complexity of the situation and the advice. This illustrates the fact that while sites on the internet may be helpful, they are no substitute for sitting down with an attorney and paying for the attorney's time.

To confirm, is the 72-year old man the nephew? Wills only take effect upon death. Has the aunt died?

If the 72-year old man has been foolishly paying taxes on the aunt's land, then aunt needed to make a will somewhere along the the way giving the man the property or putting his name on the deed. Have you checked the deed at the courthouse in the county where the land is located to confirm that the land is in the aunt's sole name? If she did not do it, that is too bad. The man does not have a right to the property just by paying taxes.

If the property is solely in the aunt's name, then her guardian can sell or otherwise convey the property. In such case, even if the man was in the aunt's will, he would get nothing if the property was sold or transferred. The sale or transfer during the aunt's life would trump any will.

That all said, if aunt dies with a will, then any land or personal property (money) will be paid to the beneficiaries named in her will. If the aunt does not have a will (and we will not know that until the time of aunt's death), then her property would pass via the intestacy laws of the state where she is residing. If the aunt has no children or grandchildren and no spouse, then the property would pass to her parents, who I assume have long since died. In such casee, it would pass to her siblings and if they also are dead, to any children of her siblings. So there is a possibility that if aunt died that the man would share the aunt's assets along with any other cousins or siblings of the man. It does not matter that he was the only relative who cared for her - if he was that special, she would have made made a will.

The problem that I see is that the aunt is in a nursing home and only has meager Social Security. This means that the aunt is probably on Medicaid. Stays in nursing homes are not cheap and run on average $4000 - $6000 a month. The law mandates that Medicaid recover any money upon the death of the aunt. If the guardian sells the property now, the aunt will have assets and will not be able to continue to receive Medicaid. So in all likelihood, nothing will be done until the aunt passes away and when she does, the house will have to be sold and any proceeds used to reimburse Medicaid. If there is anything left, it would then be divided among aunt's relatives or beneficiaries as noted above.

Once again, this demonstrates the importance of making a will early on in life and not relying on the intestacy law as a substitute for estate planning. Had proper planning been done, this situation could have been avoided.