Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Do I have rights to the deed of the home i've lived in, upkept, and made improve

I have been living in a house for 10+ years. The deed is in my parent's name. We need the deed to the home to secure a home improvement loan. The home needs major repairs. We've covered all expenses with he exception of taxes and insurance. Do we have any rights to the deed as the occupiers of the home for 10+ years?

Thank you for your valuable time!

--name removed--


Asked on 9/12/03, 7:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Miriam Jacobson Retired from practice of law

Re: Do I have rights to the deed of the home i've lived in, upkept, and made imp

?That depends.

Are your parents still living? If so, they own the home, but apparently have allowed you to live

there. If you have made significant improvements, perhaps you should be asking them to recognize

the added value by deeding to you at least an interest in the property.

If your parents died, and if they had wills, the wills would control who the current owner should

be. The personal representative of the estate would have authority to sign a deed to the person

named in the will. The will should have been probated [filed] with the Register of Wills for the

county where your parents, or the last of them to die, resided at the time of death.

If they are deceased but had no will, the property would go to their legal heirs. If you are the only

child, you could seek to be appointed as the personal representative of the estate by the Register of

Wills. You would have the responsibility of administering the entire estate, but you would also

have legal authority to sign the deed transferring ownership to yourself.

If there are other heirs in addition to you, you will have to reach an agreement with them about

disposition of the home.

The Offices of the Registers of Wills are often helpful to people who are trying to administer

estates on their own, but if you need assistance, you should contact an estates attorney in the

county where the estate should be administered.

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Answered on 9/13/03, 4:37 pm


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