Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas

Heir property

My great-grandparents are deceased. They did not have a will. Out of 14 children, only 2 are still alive, although several heirs are still alive and residing nationwide. My mother has paid the property taxes on the estate since their demise (1971, 1972). The house on the property has not been lived-in for quite some time (10+ years) and is in poor condition and an eye-sore. It is located outside the city limits on a 3 acre lot. My mother would like to have the house burned-down by the local volunteer fire dept. as a training exercise. Her concern is whether she has the legal authority. The surviving siblings have given her the ''OK'' to do so. Also, what are other limits of her authority concerning the afore mentioned property (ie. property improvements, building permits, etc.).


Asked on 4/29/05, 1:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Heir property

You have a few different issues here. If you can trace all of the grandparents' living offspring (including the children of the deceased heirs) and they are in agreement, then you can easily clear title, have the other heirs deed to mother, and mother can then do what she pleases with the property. It's a function of locating and dealing with them. If not, mother can pursue a court action to declare her the owner of the property, assuming she has maintained or paid taxes on it for a long, long time.

As for burning it down, I'm unfamiliar with that, though I bet a call to the FD would probably be the place to start.

Read more
Answered on 4/30/05, 10:06 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Texas