My father passed in July of last year. His only real asset, no thanks to my mother, is a small piece of property in Brazoria County. He left no will.
For several reasons, all involving family, I've kept myself out of any discussions regarding my late father's estate. However, I was recently informed that the property taxes on the lot are a couple of years overdue. It seems all of the family members that had fought for ownership of the land after Dad passed have either lost interest or, most likely, are in no position to clear up the tax issue. The deed is still in my father's name.
So...I want to pay the back taxes, but I'd rather not have any of my crazy siblings benefit from me doing so.
My questions are...how can I obtain ownership of the property, and would paying the back taxes now help me achieve that? While I doubt I'll ever build a house on it myself, it was my dad's dream to one day do just that...he owned the property for almost 20 years and talked constantly about it. I really have no clue what I'll do with it, it's just that I would hate to see his dream auctioned off in a county sale, or for one of my crazy siblings to sell it and blow the money on drugs/alcohol.
For several reasons, all involving family, I've kept myself out of any discussions regarding my late father's estate. However, I was recently informed that the property taxes on the lot are a couple of years overdue. It seems all of the family members that had fought for ownership of the land after Dad passed have either lost interest or, most likely, are in no position to clear up the tax issue. The deed is still in my father's name.
So...I want to pay the back taxes, but I'd rather not have any of my crazy siblings benefit from me doing so.
My questions are...how can I obtain ownership of the property, and would paying the back taxes now help me achieve that? While I doubt I'll ever build a house on it myself, it was my dad's dream to one day do just that...he owned the property for almost 20 years and talked constantly about it. I really have no clue what I'll do with it, it's just that I would hate to see his dream auctioned off in a county sale, or for one of my crazy siblings to sell it and blow the money on drugs/alcohol.
