In Texas, the answer is “no”. (If the decedent died in a county other than
the one where the real property is located, a court-authenticated copy of the
Will and the order admitting the will to probate needs to be recorded in the
other county.) However, Texas is a
“title company state” and the new owner or owners really need a title policy
that “insures” ownership to them and insures that if there is ever a challenge
to ownership, including liens on the property, the title company will pay the
legal fees, not the insured owners.
The beneficiary/new owner really should get a title policy
as soon as the Executor indicates that he, she, or it will receive ownership of
the property (that is, the estate is not insolvent and the real property will,
therefore, not have to be sold to pay creditors or, in any event, the real
estate is exempt from non-secured creditors of the decedent). If the beneficiary delays a year or more
after death and probate, the title company may require a deed before it will
insure the title. The title company may
ask for a deed even if the beneficiary requests one soon after death and the
probate of the Will. You’ll have to
decide if it’s less expensive to have the Executor’s attorney draft a deed or
ask a different title company if it is willing to insure the title without
requiring a deed.
Note, that if the Will gives real property to a surviving
spouse who is already on the title policy, title insurance may not be
necessary. You should review the title
policy and ask the title company, or its successor if it is no longer in
existence, to confirm in writing that the surviving spouse’s ownership is
completely insured. (Do not be surprised
if the surviving spouse cannot find it and you have to request a copy from the
title company.)
You may want to pay a title company to run a search of the
real property records (“official public records”) to see if there are any liens
either on the property or recorded in the name of someone with a name similar
to the decedent. For example, there may
be a mechanic’s lien filed when someone was doing work on your property to
insure that you paid your bill. You may
actually have paid your bill and the worker forgot to release the lien. You will either need to get the worker to
sign a release now and, if not available, find out what the title company will
need in order to accept proof that the bill was paid. (In some cases, you may need to get a court
order to that effect.) If there are, you
can decide whether to deal with them currently or wait.
Posts
