{"id":1249,"date":"2021-02-17T11:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T16:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:20:03","slug":"escheat-homes-and-the-bizarre-business-of-heir-tracing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/escheat-homes-and-the-bizarre-business-of-heir-tracing\/","title":{"rendered":"Escheat Homes and the Bizarre Business of Heir-Tracing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Image<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an old saying: Where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a\nrelative. Like many old sayings, this one is nearly always true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, what if someone dies, leaving no heirs to take title\nto a house left behind? In some cases, wills are<\/em> found, but they either\nrule out or just fail to name any currently living heirs. What happens to the\nproperty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all else fails, the state has the right of escheatment.\n<\/em>The government may ultimately take title to assets of deceased people\nwho pass away without leaving any known heirs or instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But again, this is a rare occurrence. Whether there\u2019s a will\nor not, there\u2019s almost always a way to find an heir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Handling an Intestate Estate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If a good-faith search fails to turn up a will at all, the\ncourt must declare the estate intestate<\/em> (without a will). This\nis quite common. Most people \u2014 reportedly 68% in the United States as of 2020 —\ndie intestate! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every one of these cases, an intestate estate notification\nmust be published according to state law provisions, so any potential claimant\nmight come forward. Meanwhile, the estate\u2019s administrator turns to the state\u2019s rules\non heirship. This involves a search for anyone related to the deceased, in the\norder they are listed in the state\u2019s law: spouse, offspring, parents, and so\nforth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that very rare case where no viable heir can be found,\nthe escheatment process begins. Escheatment \u201carose for simplicity\u2019s sake of\nlisting the state as the ultimate taker,\u201d explains John V. Orth of the\nUniversity of North Carolina School of Law. So, \u201cthe state became in that sense\n\u2013 and in that sense only \u2013 the \u2018last heir.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNotoriously,\u201d adds Prof. Orth, \u201cAn heir has no rights in\nthe property while the ancestor lives, only a \u2018mere expectancy,\u2019 but the state\nhas a right all along, a paramount title\u2026to real property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Heirs Who Aren\u2019t Apparent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If probate courts need help finding out who should inherit,\nthe county may have a public administrator<\/em> who, working with local police,\ncan deploy investigators to the home of the deceased, to look for information.\nAdditionally, digital tools help today\u2019s probate administrators track down\nelusive heirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s more: a whole profession built around tracing\nheirs. Reputable heir-tracing firms work with professional genealogists<\/a> to identify and\nlocate heirs for probate cases. Typically, they charge by the hour. A quick\nsearch for genealogical heir-tracing firms shows fees up to around $200 hourly,\nwith a probate case taking some 15 or 20 hours of work. An estate administrator\nwould request their fee proposals, then obtain a court order to approve the\nestate\u2019s hiring of a specific tracing firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some beneficiaries inherit homes from trusts. In cases where\nthe trust beneficiaries are not immediately found, too, the estate could pay a\ngenealogical tracing firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All states have provisions ruling out bad actors as viable\nheirs. An extreme case would involve someone convicted of killing the homeowner.\nOnce convicted, that person has no right to inherit the property \u2014 even if no\nother heirs are found and the home must escheat. Similarly, statues provide for\nescheat of property that was illegally obtained, and no rightful title holder is\nfound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weird World of Percentage-Based Heir Tracers <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Image<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Move over, ambulance-chasers. Commission-based heir-tracing wins the award for the most morbid practice of law. Consider the heir hunters<\/a>, sifting through probate notices, looking for heirs who might not know about some wealthy relative\u2019s death. They contact the heirs, and promise to go after the windfall \u2014 for a finder\u2019s fee. This commission is a percentage (often around a third) of the inheritance. The heir, unable to see the details of the estate and claim the assets directly, goes along with the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, the legal collaborators take over and contact the\nprobate administrator. The law firm introduces itself as the heir\u2019s agent, to\nget first dibs on the assets and shut out other firms. Sometimes, the other\nfirms even agree to shut themselves out of the competition, for a cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These tactics degrade the legal profession, and courts are\ncracking down. For example, the California Appeals Court in Estate\nof Molino<\/a><\/em> decided that a licensed private investigator offended public\npolicy by taking a 35% finder\u2019s fee from the half-siblings of a deceased person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Department of Justice is also monitoring the practice, and has launched criminal investigations into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive activities in the heir location industry<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probate courts are on the lookout for percentage-based heir\nhunters. Some only authorize estate administrators to hire through flat fees. Probate\ncourts have also modified or voided commission-based agreements as counter to\nstate law or public policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the Real Heirs Please Stand Up?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A person may, of course, step up and ask to be considered an\nheir to an intestate estate. In certain cases, state law might allow the\nestate\u2019s administrator to bypass the formal order of succession to enable a\nfair outcome. In any case, the place to start is with an application for the determination\nof heirship. The application may be filed by the administrator of the estate\n(or someone submitting an application to have an administrator appointed), a\ncreditor, or anyone who believes they are an heir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public notice requirements follow the filing of an\napplication. For example, here are the they are in the Texas Estates Code<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you placed a lien on an escheat home, you\u2019ll be\nencouraged to know that states usually make good on the former owner\u2019s debts.\nBanks that hold mortgages secured by an escheat property, medical providers\nwith liens, and workers with mechanics\u2019 liens can all petition for judgments to\nrecoup funds, as long as they created their security interests in the house before\nit escheated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State laws dictate the time allowed for estate administration\nto begin once a person dies, and whether or when heirs or creditors have a set\nperiod to make their claims. These provisions vary by state and they can change.\nCurrent state law must always be checked. Of course, stepping up as promptly as\npossible is the best policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You Snooze, You Lose?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Picture<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In California, the state\u2019s ownership cannot be contested\nafter five years. An heir who steps up earlier may claim assets, as long as that\nperson doesn\u2019t gloss over the existence of other heirs, as noted in 2000 by\nCalifornia\u2019s Appellate Court in Estate of McGuigan<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, this first-come-first-served rule \u201ccan lead to\nseemingly harsh results,\u201d the McGuigan court admitted. But the court invoked\nprior case law holding that probate courts need not delay the distribution of\nassets, as missing heirs \u201cdo not have a vested interest in an escheated estate\nduring the state’s five-year waiting period.\u201d Thus, when the court accepts a legally\nviable heir, the title is conveyed to that person with an administrator\u2019s\ndeed.<\/em> And that\u2019s that. Claimants who step up later cannot challenge the\ndeed conveyance.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each state handles escheatment with its own legal framework.\nA lawyer in the county and state where the property is located can advise a\npotential claimant on how to navigate the local probate system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying the Empty Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the owner of an escheat home, the state can convert the\nproperty into a public good, or sell it on the market. A real estate agent\nshould be able to tell you about vacant properties \u2014 whether the homeowners\npassed away or simply walked away, leaving the houses owned by banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u261b<\/strong> <\/strong>If\nyou are seeking, or have found, a foreclosed home to for sale, see our guide\nto buying a foreclosed home<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empty houses come with challenges. Hopeful buyers usually need\nto accept them in as-is condition. This can mean hidden\ndefects and unknown damage<\/a>. Insurers might be wary about taking on\nthe associated risks, with good reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some seasoned investors successfully invest in vacant\nproperties. Their real estate holdings are typically large and diverse enough\nto absorb the risk. But all buyers are well advised to consult with a real\nestate attorney and a mortgage expert \u2014 both to find out how a lender will\nhandle the underwriting process, and to anticipate the risks in buying a vacant\nhouse.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tx. Code \u00a7 202.051<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Va. Code \u00a7 55.1-2435<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Va. Code \u00a7 55.1-2436<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estate of McGuigan<\/a><\/em>, 83 Cal. App. 4th 639 (2000).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conversation: 68% of Americans Do not Have a\u00a0Will<\/a> (May 2020).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John V. Orth, University of North Carolina School of Law: Escheat \u2013 Is the State the Last Heir?<\/a> (Autumn 2009).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerry W. Beyer, Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog: The Mystery of the Millionaire Hermit<\/a> (Jul. 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credits: Andrea Piacquadio<\/a>, via Pexels; Melinda Gimpel<\/a> and Markus Winkler<\/a>, via Unsplash. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an old saying: Where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a relative. Like many old sayings, this one is nearly always true. Still, what if someone dies, leaving no heirs to take title to a house left behind? In some cases, wills are found, but they either rule out or just fail to name any currently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\nEscheat Homes and the Bizarre Business of Heir-Tracing - Deeds.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Still, what if someone dies, leaving no heirs to take title to a house left behind? 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