​Partition Sale

​Partition Sale

Wholesaler · Metairie, LA · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 0 votes

Can you get a court order to sale (partition) if you cannot locate the heirs of an estate?


Here is the situation.

The owners of the property are deceased. The husband passed in 2004 and the wife 2006. However, there was no probate (succession for Louisiana) done. Don't ask me why.

Fast forward, I have spoken with the husband's daughter and she wants to sell. However, she does not know where the heirs of the wife (her stepmother) are located.

She wants to get a probate/succession done for her father's interest in the property, but since she cannot locate the heirs she would be an owner and her deceased stepmother, but she doesn't want the house due to its condition.

So, I ask the Bigger Pockets community, if she gets probate done first, could she then have partition sale done on the property with the court placing the earnings for her stepmother in her estate or an trust account for the heirs?

0Reply
8 views

3 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Lender · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    Yes. In theory.  You really need to talk to an Attorney.  

  • Investor · Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 915 votes
    10y

    @Greg Tunes I recommend you contact David Birdsong at

    http://www.gulfsouthtitlecorp.com/

  • Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    Louisiana is a wild card state, IMHO. Sorry. 

    I see the challenge with such a strategy is two-fold: standing and noticing.

    You need someone to file an initial petition for probate (or whatever it's called in LA) to get standing as executor, administrator or oersonal representative, or similar title. Upon appointment, you'll tackle problem #2

    My my state, CA, noticing is a big pain for a petitioner. Lots of cases get delayed or unwind due to insufficient or defective noticing. Your attorney will know what the law and local rules of court procedures require for construction AND actual notice. "Nail and mail" is sufficient for some cases, but not in others.

    Typically, actual notice is required, meaning personal service. Attorney services and PI routinely skip trace missing persons in order to service papers. The alternative is getting a court order which, absent the other methods, relies on publishing in an adjudicated newspaper. 

    Then again, it's Louisiana.

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.