Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in West Virginia

Re: probate

The administrator of the estate has no authority to transfer West Virginia real estate of a decedent without a court authorization and then only if necessary to pay the debts of the decedent. The heirs at law are vested with title. You should see a lawyer to clear this up. You should also put your title insurance underwriter, if any, on notice of a possible claim. Without knowing more and because this is a general information site, I cannot say exactly how to fix your situation. I think it may be possible to secure a quit claim deed from the heirs at law, unless you are the only child and your father passed without a spouse. It that case, you are vested with title and the administrator's deed is meaningless but harmless. The next step is to probate the estate which should be done anyway. When you say you purchased it from the bank and that the administrator signed the deed, that doesn't make sense. When you say, the house "never went into probate" that doesn't make sense either, if there was an administrator unless probate was opened with the qualification of an administrator and the estate just not finalized or finalized and the real estate was not properly listed on Schedule A of the 6.01 Appraisement of the Estate. Perhaps you purchased it at a foreclosure sale from the bank's trustee listed in the deed of trust. In that event, the trustee's deed bypassed probate and any potential liens of creditors of the estate could not attach and the new bank should not insist on a probate administration of finalization of probate. Thus, you need to consult a lawyer to review the facts as they are. The cure could be simple. If there are other heirs at law who were not paid for their interest, then the cure may not be so simple.