Establishing Title to Real Estate Property After Death
I regularly receive calls from clients who are the children or grandchildren of long ago deceased parents or grandparents who owned and remain the title owners of real estate, usually farm land or undeveloped lots at or near a lake.
My clients seek to establish clean title to the real estate, usually in order to sell the real estate. In the State of Missouri, many times we are dealing with undeveloped lots at or near a lake and the value of the real estate is less than $40,000. Therefore, we are able to establish a time line of ownership and a chain of title from the original owners to their heirs at law, children and grandchildren, via a small estates affidavit.
If the value of the real estate exceeds $40,000 in Missouri, then it will be necessary to file a petition for determination of heirship for each of the deceased individuals who originally owned the real estate and any deceased heirs at law who have legal inheritance rights in the real estate.
In Kansas, probate estate matters that involve real property disqualify the small estates affidavit option. A petition for determination of descent must be filed for each deceased owner and deceased heir at law who have legal inheritance rights.
Once the various small estates affidavits and decrees of descent or heirship have been issued by the probate court, those court orders may be recorded with the proper county register of deeds or recorder of deeds office to establish legal title in the names of the living heirs at law.
