Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
Can the family claim the property?
My great grandfather purchase property in the late 1800s. A will recorded in the court house stated that his first grands were to gain control of the property when the youngest turned 18 years of age. Property taxes were paid on the property two years after his death. After that there were no tax records. An excerpt from ''The Peanut Story'' states that he obtained patents for a ''good peanut picker and the manure spreader . He sold the patents to others.''
By the way, he was a free blackman. The family has none of his inheritance. We know where the property is located, but know one could tell us who pays the taxes. The property is nothing but wooded area. What can we do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Can the family claim the property?
Not much now, I would say, other than to carry forward with your great grandfather's exploits accounted for in "The Peanut Story" and see whether you can add your own worthy chapter or so to this saga for the beginning of the 21ST Century.
Re: Can the family claim the property?
Very interesting set of circumstances. Even though there might be very little that you can do, I would still have a title search done by a local abstractor to see who is the current owner of the property. Even though it is rare to be able to recoup property so many years down the line, the abstractor's report is not going to be too costly and the attorney's fees to review the title may be worth it if nothing else just to answer your question once and for always rather than keeping this open chance in your mind. In addition, you really never know... there might be a break in the chain of title at some point!
Good luck.
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