Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas

real property

My sisters and I own property that my mother owned at the time of her passing. There was no will. Two of my sister have lived in these properties since our mother passed away. Since my sisters don't pay rent we felt it was only right for them to pay the annual taxes on these properties. It's been 13 years since our mother died. I heard if a sibling pays the taxes on a property for more than five years they can claim the property as their own, Is this true?, and if so what can be done to stop it.


Asked on 5/25/09, 5:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: real property

Sort of. There is a doctrine of law called adverse possession. If you openly lay claim to land, to the exclusion of others, maintain and pay taxes, then you may have an issue. This isn't exactly what happened here. At any rate, the appropriate thing to do is to have each of the siblings sign a family settlement agreement specifying who owns the land (be it all three of you, or if one wants to buy out the other two, etc.) who occupies it, who rents it or whatever. Then, you can have a lawyer draw up curative title documents (depending on what you all decide) to clear title. If the one child isn't agreeing, then you need to file an heirship affidavit, and possible a suit to quiet title (which can be expensive.) Bottom line, try to negotiate a deal everyone can live with, then get a a lawyer to paper it.

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Answered on 5/25/09, 6:05 pm


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