Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas
Warranty of deed
My grandpa passed away and left his house to my mother on his will. A few years later my mother took out a loan on the house with my father as a co-signer. A few years after that, my father passed away and left no will. Now my mother wants to sell the house. The deed is tied up with a title company. The title company needs two signatures out of five siblings on a warranty deed and affidavit of heirship in order for my mother to sell the house. I tried calling the title company for more explanation; however they did not want to talk due to me not being on the contract, even though it�s my signature that is being requested.
The two signatures needed are me and my sister. We are from my dad and a previous marriage. One of my brother�s is from my mom and her previous. And the remaining two siblings are from my mother and my late father. My question is why are only signatures needed instead of all five? And what documentation can I legally obtain before I sign a warranty of deed (i.e. home appraisal, copy of will, etc) ?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Warranty of deed
An interesting question, which can't be answered in detail without more information. You would need to hire your own Texas attorney to get a definitive answer as to what's going on.
It looks like the big picture is, though, that your (step?)mother needs your signature in order to be able to sell the house. Although you have no obligation that I can see to sign the documents, let's consider the alternative. Apparently, if you don't sign, then she won't be able to sell the house. One possibility is that she owns the house 100%, but paperwork wasn't done properly in the past, so she needs your signature to clear up the chain of title. The other possibility is that you own part of the house, and therefore are entitled to part of the proceeds. Signing the document could possibly be equivalent to a gift, subject to federal gift tax. The first big picture decision you must make is whether you are willing to derail the sale and cause your (step?)mother a problem. Maybe you want to figure out how much of the house you own, and demand that in return for your signature, you receive your portion of the proceeds.
The second consideration which you seem to touch on is whether you should be signing a deed with a warranty. If you don't know what you own, then you certainly shouldn't be giving a warranty of title. This would be inviting liability upon yourself.
You should talk to your (step?)mother about this and let her know that you are hesitant to sign something that you know nothing about, that could bring liability on you and her, and can she get the information for you? Once you get the information, if you don't understand it, then the only way to satisfy yourself that you are doing the right thing will be to hire a Texas attorney to advise you.
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