Inheritance Title Transfer

sw4rmed

sw4rmed

New Member
Jurisdiction
Missouri
My Mom passed away. She had finished making payments on a property and never finished getting the deed transferred to her. I have never done any real estate. My step dad said he will give the house to my twin. My twin said I can have the house instead. How do I legally have this transferred to me in this situation? I live in Missouri by the way.
 
Missouri offers a probate shortcut for "small estates." This makes it easier for survivors to transfer property left by a person who has died. You may be able to transfer a large amount of property using the following probate shortcut -- saving time, money, and hassle.

Missouri has a simplified probate process for small estates. To use it, an inheritor or the personal representative files a written request with the local probate court asking to use the simplified procedure. The court may authorize the executor to distribute the assets without having to jump through the hoops of regular probate.

You can use the simplified small estate process in Missouri if the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, is $40,000 or less. There is a 30-day waiting period. You will have to get a bond (an insurance policy that protects the estate) in an amount equal to the value of personal property. You are responsible for ensuring debts owed to the state of Missouri and the estate will pay funeral and burial expenses before you receive your inheritance. You are also responsible for giving the other inheritors the assets they are entitled to.

Your written request must include the following information:

a statement that there is no will or the will was presented for probate within one year of the person's death if no notice was published
a statement that all unpaid debts, taxes, and claims against the deceased person on the property transfers requested in the affidavit have been paid or will be paid
an inventory and valuation of the deceased person's property
the names and addresses of people or businesses who have the property, and
the names, addresses, and relationship of people entitled to the assets and who will receive the property after paying the deceased person's claims and debts,
If the value of the personal property is more than $15,000, the court clerk must publish a notice in a local newspaper that tells creditors to file their claims within one year from the date of publication. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.097 473.097 .



Probate Administration for Small Estates in Missouri

A normal probate administration in Missouri involves over $40,000 in net assets, so an estate with less than $40,000 is referred to as a "small estate."

Why does the law set special rules for small estates? Think about it, if our court system had to conduct a full, year-long administration for every small estate, the costs of administration might often exceed the amount of trust assets. At the very least, the costs would make the probate process cost-prohibitive. In addition, if the court system put the same amount of time and effort into small estates as regular estates, the system would be jam-packed. Cases would take even longer than they do now.


Probate Law for Small Estates
So estates worth less than $40,000 actually go through the probate process differently. Special procedures and rules exist for small estates in Missouri, allowing these estates to be dealt with in a simpler and more efficient manner. The typical small estate will take about 4 to 8 weeks to complete, as opposed to the 8 to 12 months that a regular probate administration would take.

Usually, a person who has a legal interest in the property of the decedent (called the "affiant") is a family member and legal heir under the probate laws of the state of Missouri or a beneficiary named in the deceased party's will. The affiant petitions the court to probate the small estate, and the probate court will eventually issue an order to not commence a full estate probate. Instead, a small estate claim will commence and grant the affiant authority to gather and distribute the small estate's assets.

Small estates that have over $15,000 in assets require notice to be published in the paper, while estates with less than $15,000 require no such notice. Additionally, a small estate affidavit can be filed with a Missouri probate court at any time, even more than one year after the date of death.

Missouri Probate Law on Small Estates Affidavit



Good luck, and please accept my sincere condolences upon the loss of your beloved mother.
May you grieve and mourn her passing and receive peace in knowing that she resides in her mansion prepared by her Savior, our Lord. May His mercy and grace make your time of bereavement swift, as her memory will live forever in your heart.
 
The property was never transferred to my Mom even she finished paying it off. I contacted the people my mom bought it from and they told me they would sign it over to me. Do I still do probate? Thank you very much for your advice and condolences.
 
sw4rmed said:
Do I still do probate?
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Your question is a tricky one, although it seems simple.

Let me try to answer it.

There is no requirement that a will or property go through probate, but if the decedent owned property that was not pre-arranged specifically to avoid probate, there is no way for the beneficiary/beneficiaries to obtain legal ownership without probate.

Remember, if the estate isn't a large estate, you MIGHT be able to use the small estate process I discussed previously.

Ownership must be transferred from the decedent to you, (or others) for example.

Sadly your mother is deceased, she can't do it.

If she didn't leave a will or trust to convey the property to you, it can ONLY pass to you (or others) by the Missouri's law of intestate succession.

There are some exceptions to this.

It isn't just plain as a smile on someone's face.

Your mother died without a will in Missouri. Her children will receive an "intestate share" of her real property. For her children to inherit from her under the laws of intestacy, the state of Missouri must consider them her children, legally.

The chart below illustrates various scenarios when someone dies without a will in MO:

intestatesuccessionMO.png
 
sw4rmed said:
She had finished making payments on a property and never finished getting the deed transferred to her.
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Your statement that she "never finished getting the deed transferred" implies she started the process. Is that so? What is the current status of the title?

Note that, normally, title would be in her name as of the date of purchase, and the entity to whom she was making payments would have either a mortgage or a deed of trust to secure the loan. Sounds like that wasn't the case here, so does that mean this was some sort of land contract situation? Do you have contact information for the seller, and is the property still in the seller's name? Sounds like the answer is yes.

sw4rmed said:
My step dad said he will give the house to my twin. My twin said I can have the house instead. How do I legally have this transferred to me in this situation?
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sw4rmed said:
I contacted the people my mom bought it from and they told me they would sign it over to me. Do I still do probate?
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It sounds like the easiest way to do this would be for the seller to transfer title to you and bypass probate. However, that probably wouldn't be the smart thing to do because, in theory, your stepfather and/or brother could then seek to probate your mother's estate and sue the seller for breach of contract and sue you to obtain title.

The smartest thing to do would probably be to make a contract between you, your stepfather, your brother and the seller, by which the seller agrees to transfer title to you and your stepfather and brother agree to gift you their interests in the property. I strongly urge you to consult with a local attorney about this.
 
Sorry for the late reply and thank you for all your help. I have been investigating this more and it seems i cant do a probate and quit claim deeds because one of my brothers refuses to transfer the property to me so I am just going to have the property owner transfer the title to me and bypass probate.

I am new to this entirely though and was wondering what I need to do to get the title transferred to me like what kind of deed do i need to get? She said I have to do it in a way that she will not have to pay any taxes.
 
sw4rmed said:
Sorry for the late reply and thank you for all your help. I have been investigating this more and it seems i cant do a probate and quit claim deeds because one of my brothers refuses to transfer the property to me
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Well...then we need more information. Did your mother have a will? If so, what does it say? If not, then, since she was survived by a spouse and children who are not also children of the surviving spouse, the estate (after payment of estate debt) gets divided as follows: (1) half to the surviving spouse; and (2) half divided between the children (and, if applicable, children of deceased children). In your original post, you told us that your stepfather (via your twin) would transfer his interest to you, but your brother has every right to hold onto his share.

With all that said, you certainly can "do a probate." Assuming the property doesn't need to be sold to pay estate debt, and assuming your twin is the only other sibling and is still willing to give up his/her interest to you, then you and your brother would jointly own the property, with you owing 50% + 2/3 of the other 50% (i.e., 83.33%), and your brother would own the remainder. The smarter thing would probably for you to buy out your brother's interest or for the property to be sold and you two to divide the proceeds.

sw4rmed said:
so I am just going to have the property owner transfer the title to me and bypass probate.
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The owner who was selling it to your mother would have to be an absolute moron to do this and, quite frankly, it wouldn't be very smart of you either. Your brother would be able to sue you and the seller to obtain his share of the property.

sw4rmed said:
I am new to this entirely though and was wondering what I need to do to get the title transferred to me like what kind of deed do i need to get? She said I have to do it in a way that she will not have to pay any taxes.
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As before, I strongly urge you to consult with a local attorney about this. Anything else would be very foolish.
 
adjusterjack said:
That's a good way to get sued by other heirs that are entitled to a share under intestacy.
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I have 3 brothers and 2 of them and my step father want it to go to me. I would be willing to pay the person their portion of the property since its only worth 15 thousand and dropping.
 
zddoodah said:
Well...then we need more information. Did your mother have a will? If so, what does it say? If not, then, since she was survived by a spouse and children who are not also children of the surviving spouse, the estate (after payment of estate debt) gets divided as follows: (1) half to the surviving spouse; and (2) half divided between the children (and, if applicable, children of deceased children). In your original post, you told us that your stepfather (via your twin) would transfer his interest to you, but your brother has every right to hold onto his share.

With all that said, you certainly can "do a probate." Assuming the property doesn't need to be sold to pay estate debt, and assuming your twin is the only other sibling and is still willing to give up his/her interest to you, then you and your brother would jointly own the property, with you owing 50% + 2/3 of the other 50% (i.e., 83.33%), and your brother would own the remainder. The smarter thing would probably for you to buy out your brother's interest or for the property to be sold and you two to divide the proceeds.



The owner who was selling it to your mother would have to be an absolute moron to do this and, quite frankly, it wouldn't be very smart of you either. Your brother would be able to sue you and the seller to obtain his share of the property.



As before, I strongly urge you to consult with a local attorney about this. Anything else would be very foolish.
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The problem is I have been homeless for 7 years and its already been 2 years since my mother died. I only have enough money for a stimulus check to pay for a lawyer and they all want thousands of dollars to do it so its not feasible. Also I dont know if my older brother will sue me and I dont have 3-4k to start paying him.

Although this is not the smartest thing to do I am extremely poor as is all my family. How can I just have her transfer the title to me in a simple process and get the property transferred to me? What kind of deed would I use? Also America is in a sharp decline so if they sued me I would just surrender the house and move to another country so its not really a concern.
 
sw4rmed said:
I was informed by a local lawyer that if my older brother wont sign a quit claim deed then its pointless to do a probate and impossible and i would have to sell the house and split the money by law.
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It's not "pointless", nor is it "impossible", therefore, I suspect that misunderstood what you were told. In fact, in the situation you describe, probate MUST be done in order to distribute anything.
 
sw4rmed said:
I have 3 brothers and 2 of them and my step father want it to go to me. I would be willing to pay the person their portion of the property since its only worth 15 thousand and dropping.
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sw4rmed said:
The problem is I have been homeless for 7 years and its already been 2 years since my mother died. I only have enough money for a stimulus check to pay for a lawyer and they all want thousands of dollars to do it so its not feasible.
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If you only have $1,400 in your pocket, then how do you expect to pay your brother for his portion?

Although this is not the smartest thing to do I am extremely poor as is all my family. How can I just have her transfer the title to me in a simple process and get the property transferred to me? What kind of deed would I use?
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You can't.
Also America is in a sharp decline so if they sued me I would just surrender the house and move to another country so its not really a concern.
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That's overreacting just a bit...besides, why do you think another country would accept a destitute homeless person?
 
sw4rmed said:
How can I just have her transfer the title to me in a simple process and get the property transferred to me?
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If the seller is willing to transfer title to you, despite you having no legal right to the property, she can execute a deed and deliver it to you, and you can then file/record it with the county clerk/recorder.

sw4rmed said:
if they sued me I would just surrender the house and move to another country
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What makes you think any other country would allow you to immigrate given that you "have been homeless for 7 years and . . . [are] extremely poor"? Most other countries are not willing to immigrants who will just end up on the public dole.
 
Zigner said:
If you only have $1,400 in your pocket, then how do you expect to pay your brother for his portion?

You can't.
That's overreacting just a bit...besides, why do you think another country would accept a destitute homeless person?
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This is very confusing. I keep getting told I can do a probate, or bypass it by a small claims deed. What do I do in my situation to affordably transfer this property to me instead of that a poor man cant inherit family estate by law and extensive legal requirement. I just need to have her transfer the title to me.
 
sw4rmed said:
This is very confusing. I keep getting told I can do a probate, or bypass it by a small claims deed. What do I do in my situation to affordably transfer this property to me instead of that a poor man cant inherit family estate by law and extensive legal requirement.
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Not "small claims" - "Small Estate". The problem is that you don't have all the siblings in agreement.
I just need to have her transfer the title to me.
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The property doesn't belong to you. It belongs to your mom's estate, so somebody can't just hand over title to you. You will need to work this out with your brother.
 
zddoodah said:
If the seller is willing to transfer title to you, despite you having no legal right to the property, she can execute a deed and deliver it to you, and you can then file/record it with the county clerk/recorder.



What makes you think any other country would allow you to immigrate given that you "have been homeless for 7 years and . . . [are] extremely poor"? Most other countries are not willing to immigrants who will just end up on the public dole.
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She said she is willing to transfer it to me at any time but what kind of paperwork will I need in order for her to transfer it to me in this situation? I am not experienced in this and looked online. They said I need to have her sign a deed but there are so many different types of deeds. What type of deed paperwork should I have her sign in order to transfer it?

I don't want to live in a country that hates me because im white and just pushes for my racial extinction while furthering the impossibility of me to get a job and over tax me to fund poc. I will just marry a girl from another country and save enough money to move.
 
sw4rmed said:
She said she is willing to transfer it to me at any time but what kind of paperwork will I need in order for her to transfer it to me in this situation?
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Who is "she"?

I don't want to live in a country that hates me because im white and just pushes for my racial extinction while furthering the impossibility of me to get a job and over tax me to fund poc. I will just marry a girl from another country and save enough money to move.
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Then move - because the rest of us don't want somebody with your attitude here either.
 
Zigner said:
Not "small claims" - "Small Estate". The problem is that you don't have all the siblings in agreement.
The property doesn't belong to you. It belongs to your mom's estate, so somebody can't just hand over title to you. You will need to work this out with your brother.
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I cant afford a probate process anyways and to pay my older brother the money. He is a raging drug addict that is violent and its really useless bothering with him about it.
Zigner said:
Who is "she"?

Then move - because the rest of us don't want somebody with your attitude here either.
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Please just stay out of this conversation your not helping and just making everything more confusing and now currently trolling me.
 

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