Partial Interest and two deceased owners

[Gabe Larkin]

I got a call today from a abandoned home lead via direct mail. The lady who is listed as the owner of record is elderly and on fixed income and said she could not afford to pay the taxes or keep up the house any longer. It turns out her aunt deeded her and two of her cousins the home in 1985. Elderly Lady (EL) lived in the house from 1985 until 07ish and the house has fallen into disrepair since then. The two cousins both died intestate about ten years ago. One was predeceased by his wife and has 12 children and the other has 6 or 7 children and EL is not sure about the wife. EL has no contact with any of the children. The house is worth 20-25k as is.

EL is slowly coming to grips with the fact her interest is not worth much money and is just tired of paying the taxes, so I told her I might could work something out. The question I have is what course of action is best here? Is assignments from heirs then probate the only way? Would EL have a case for adverse possession? What if I can't get all the assignments (which is a virtual certainty with at least 20 heirs) it seems like a partition would chew up most of the money, not to mention EL had 20+ years of use with no rent paid to her cousins. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Don Konipol]

I just don't see how dealing with 20 heirs can be profitable on a property worth $20K.