Surviving heirs

[rdesab]

My father's father and his brother and three sisters owned land in Italy. They are all deceased. All of them but one of the sisters bequeathed the land to my father. The one sister has five heirs who, according to records in Italy, live in Canada, but we don't know where they live or if they're even alive. Since the land we're trying to sell is 4/5 in my father's name and 1/5 in the name of these Canadian heirs, we don't know how to proceed. Can we sell the land and keep 1/5 of the money in an escrow account? Or can we simply put out an ad in various Canadian papers asking for them to come forward within a specified amount of time? Can anyone help with this?

 

[army judge]

My father's father and his brother and three sisters owned land in Italy. They are all deceased. All of them but one of the sisters bequeathed the land to my father. The one sister has five heirs who, according to records in Italy, live in Canada, but we don't know where they live or if they're even alive. Since the land we're trying to sell is 4/5 in my father's name and 1/5 in the name of these Canadian heirs, we don't know how to proceed. Can we sell the land and keep 1/5 of the money in an escrow account? Or can we simply put out an ad in various Canadian papers asking for them to come forward within a specified amount of time? Can anyone help with this?

You can 80% of a property with only 80% of the owners signing off the deed, IF you can find a STUPID buyer.
You don't want to do that, however.
I suggest you speak with a lawyer or two in Italy.
The lawyer will best advise you how to proceed and what you must do under Italian law to sell the property and obey the law.

 

[rdesab]

We've consulted a lawyer in Italy and he says we need to consult a lawyer in Canada. We're playing a lawyer merry go round! Italian, American, Canadian, and they all want fees...

 

[army judge]

We've consulted a lawyer in Italy and he says we need to consult a lawyer in Canada. We're playing a lawyer merry go round! Italian, American, Canadian, and they all want fees...

The property is located in Italy, right?
You need an Italian lawyer.
The Italian lawyer will engage a Canadian lawyer or private investigator to conduct a search in Canada.
More than likely, the search will simply involve publication of the names of the people you wish to locate in Canada.

I know of no other way to do this.
But, I'm a US lawyer.
Canadian law is somewhat similar to US law, but still different.

Italian laws are foreign to me.
I've visited Italy, but never had any legal dealings in that country.

Why not speak to the nearest Italian consular official, or the nearest Italian Embassy?
Perhaps those government officials can offer you additional insight.
The property is in Italy, after all.​

 

[rdesab]

That's good advice and thanks. We've got an Italian lawyer and at this point, we are frozen. We can't proceed until our Canadian family signs off. I am waiting on his response. Thank you!