Removing a name from a deed on real estate held in Massachusetts can be as simple as a voluntary transfer of the deed from one person to another, or a more complex issue that must go through the Probate and Family Court to remedy. This article will inform the reader by way of a description of a case as to how a person can be removed from a deed when that person cannot be located.
The Case
Mr. X was granted a home by his mother. Included in the grant of that home was Mr. X’s friend, and mother herself. The net result from this grant of property by mother to her son and his friend was that the deed that was filed with the local Registry of Deeds in Massachusetts read, “Mother grants to mother, Mr. X, and Friend as joint tenants the home located at Main Street, Reading, Massachusetts.” In plain English…. mother, friend, and Mr. X now owned the home in Reading together as joint tenants.
After three years mother passed away. Another year later, Friend disappeared without notifying Mr. X of his whereabouts. Mr. X was left alone in the home and thought nothing about the deed from that point on because he simply had not cause to do so. However, one night a few months later, Mr. X realized that the market for home sellers was excellent, so he reached out to a real estate broker to sell the home.
Once the real estate broker realized that there were two other people besides Mr. X on the deed, she inquired with Mr. X as to the whereabouts of Friend and Mother. Mr. X explained that Mother was deceased and produced a death certificate as proof, but, as he explained, he did not know what happened to Friend.
How to Remove a Person from a Deed When That Person is Missing or Cannot be Contacted
Mr. X was directed to an attorney to assist him in proving the disappearance of Friend, with the hope of removing Friend from the deed altogether, freeing up Mr. X to sell his house. The attorney explained that the reason that a bank would likely not approve a deed with two names on it, is because where one person on that deed was not present to sign over the deed, the bank could not simply take the word of Mr. X that Friend had disappeared. A bank would require proof.
The Complaint in Equity
This form of complaint in a Massachusetts court enables the filer to establish their position as the sole owner on the deed. In order to accomplish these name changes to the deed, the judge will want to receive evidence of death certificates, and in the case of Friend from our example above, will want publication and attempts to locate Friend to be tried and demonstrated as attempted to the court.
Once sufficient attempts to locate the other party (Friend, in this example) have been tried and proven to the court, a judge will likely approve the changes to the deed in a final judgment following a trial on the matter. A trial in this type of matter will be relatively simple since there is no party contesting the change on the deed, but the overall time frame from the filing of the complaint to final judgment could be over one year. Still, this process is the best method to establish a clear removal of the missing person in the chain of title to the property.
Filing on Real Estate Matters Related to Deeds
When it is not possible to achieve a voluntary removal of an individual from a deed, the next best option is to pursue the matter in a Massachusetts court with the goal of receiving a final judgment that the person is removed from the deed. Once removed, the deed can now be freely transferred in the sale of the property. If you are seeking the removal of a named person from a deed and would like information on this process, contact attorney Gaudet at your earliest convenience.
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