Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

My family has some property in S.C. The problem is that it is heir property, and the original title is from the 1800's. My father is the last surviving original heir, as the property was his great grandfather's. Now the state wants to take 1/2 acre to widen the road and compensate for the value, but the money would be put into a state account, because of this being heir property. I am the legal executor of the property, I pay the taxes on the land and handle all correspondence about land. How do I proceed to clear the title, do I need to hire a lawyer? I live in Va. Would I need to hire a lawyer in S.C, or retain one here? Or is it something I could do myself?


Asked on 12/18/10, 10:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Yes, you would need to engage the services of a South Carolina attorney

who handles real property law matters in that state to clear any so-called

"clouds" on the title to this property, i.e., through a quiet title lawsuit filed in the appropriate court of South Carolina.

However, if there are no such clouds on the title and it's merely a matter of determining the surviving heirs and recording an Affidavit of Heirship(or something similar) in the land records of the South Carolina court in the jurisdiction

where the property is located and/or recording a revised deed to reflect these new owners, you may be able to handle this on your own without hiring a lawyer.

Once all the heirs have been properly listed in the land records as the current

owners of the property, then each would need to individually sign the instrument

conveying the land to the state in return for whatever compensation that they have agreed to accept.

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Answered on 12/23/10, 2:08 pm


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