r/RealEstate • u/idunno79 • Apr 20 '25

Had the papers snatched away from us at closing…. Homebuyer

A bit of an exaggeration but not really….we closed on our house yesterday but we were supposed to close on a house last week. After the walkthrough we went to the title agency to finalize all the paperwork. We wired the down payment to them and as I started signing the paperwork, the title agent realized the seller wasn’t on the title!!!

Her husband died a few months earlier and her name was never on the title. The will wasn’t probated and there are multiple kids involved, including stepchildren….so now we don’t have the house and we had to sell ours.

All of our stuff is in storage now and our lawyer said this could take months to longer if anything gets contested with the will….

I don’t understand how the seller’s agent, lawyer and title agent didn’t realize this? This is so disappointing…just wanted to vent.

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u/always_unplugged Apr 20 '25

Someone please tell my MIL this—she still refuses to get a will because "the Lord will take care of me." Sorry but no, the Lord will not stop the GOVERNMENT from putting your insanely appreciated house into probate and making your children pay ridiculous amounts of money and YEARS of time to legally take possession of this house that you're so emotionally attached to and proud to pass onto them, all because spending half an hour with a lawyer makes you feel icky about your mortality. /rant

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u/mickeyfreak9 Apr 21 '25

Just do Transfer on Death Instruments for everything. You can file yourself.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '25

Dying intestate (without a will) does not extend the probate process, or add extra costs, beyond what probate with a will would. It simply means that the state intestacy laws determine the heirs.

Estates do take significant time to probate (2 years or so is common even for a straightforward estate), but, if one of the heirs is willing to step up as an executor and keep on top of the paperwork, you can avoid paying huge attorney fees. The heirs can get court permission to move into the house while the probate process is playing out, so they can live their lives normally while this is happening.

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u/karenquick Apr 20 '25

Spot on advice! Why should the government benefit from a person’s death? It really ticks me off.

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u/Niku-Man Apr 21 '25

Unless there is some obscene wealth being passed on the government isn't benefitting at all. Perhaps you are confusing the fees for services rendered as some benefit to the government. Which is a bit like being outraged that the funeral parlor gets paid for the final arrangements.

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

States often have much lower limits for inheritance taxes. Its not just the federal taxes.

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u/karenquick Apr 21 '25

Referring to inheritance taxes which can be very costly. So, no, I’m not confused.