Posted by Rick, the Probate Guy on November 14, 2006 at 05:06:47:
It’s pretty hard to tell with just the info from your post. You need to chain out the title and determine who owned what, at what time, and what powers that they had to transfer that interest.
Also, your deed of trust comment is confusing as it just doesn’t seem to fit. Could you be referring to another type of document?
Lastly, if you really have a deal, check with your title company and query them about the status of title and what document(s) they’d need in order to provide marketable title policy. They may indicate that husband only had a % of the property, but that his interest was transferred; or, that tax collector’s sale was defective based on some technical reason (i.e., noticing, etc.). You might as well find out and learn something in the meantime.
You meantion that the husband left the property to his two daughters and grandkids, but you fail to state whether his interest was probated or not? Absent a probate proceding, how does the surviving spouse transfer the property (unless they owned as joint tenants)?
Better excercise, lay out each event, line by line, establish dates, oldest to newest, and make a chain of the transfer(s) and any notes or questions that you can see with the validity of each event. You’ll learn a lot in the process.