Owner of the property died 2016, his son did not file probate since the house was damaged and had no other assets, the house was sold via sales tax auction late 2018. The tax sale owner rented it out for most of 2019-2020 since it could not be sold without a clean title. We have now found the son of the deceased owner. How can he help get the title clean? His simple signature on a document to avoid the process shown in the photo? He is not fighting the process he's just several hundred miles away. Thanks.
Coffee Drinker2021-01-11T16:21:53Z
Favorite Answer
If it was as simple as getting the former owner's son to sign a quit claim document then I'd say its well worth the time and cost to drive a few hundred miles to meet up with him, or hire a mobile notary in his area to go get his signature. You could also use a service like a FedEx store where they would print the documents at a store location close to him, he comes in and signs and the on-site notary stamps the documents then they send them back to you.
But the issue here isn't the physical distance between you and the previous owner's son. The issue is that Probate was never conducted and therefore he doesn't have a legal ownership interest in the house - therefore he can't sign away his ownership rights.
He could sign a document declaring that he doesn't have any ownership rights and will never challenge you, but that doesn't give you a clear title because it doesn't prevent someone else from coming out of nowhere to claim they're an estranged half-sibling that should have inherited a 50% share or that the deceased owner owed them money which should have been paid off when the house was sold through probate.
A quiet title suit as pictured in your document is the proper legal process to absolve any potential ownership claims that could pop up in the future and give you a clear title going forward which you can sell if/when you choose to.
If you've already filed a quiet title suit and gotten a ruling in your favor, and you just need the old owner's son to sign it, then definitely hire a mobile notary service to meet him when and where he wants. If you aren't sure how to fine a mobile notary, then call a local title/escrow company and ask if they have a reference for a network of mobile notaries.
Once the house was sold at auction, the owner's son has no more claim to the property or ability to claim it. That's up to the new owner. The new owner is who will need to pursue any title clearance.
Documents can be signed in counterparts. That means one person can sign in front of a lawyer in one city, and another in another. Have a document drafted - he can sign where he lives and the current owner can sign where he is.