Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Tennessee

Responding to your two queries separately:

I. Regarding the property co-owned by your father-in-law and his brother: the most expedient route to achieve the goal you describe is to reach agreement with the brother that he share the income equally with your father-in-law, based upon the percentage of ownership. Ideally, their arrangement should be described in a written agreement between the two of them, which doesn't have to be complicated but should clearly set forth the agreement for future reference. If he doesn't agree to share the income, then your father-in-law may have to take legal action to obtain his share of the income by order of the court. I recommend speaking to an experienced business attorney who practices in the county where your father-in-law lives.

II. Regarding your husband's grandparents' property - I think that is who you're referring to in the second part of your query, so my answer is based upon this assumption. The best route for obtaining clear title to the property in question is to go through the probate process so the heirs can obtain title by deed from the executor (if the last spouse to die had a will) or administrator (if the last spouse died intestate - e.g., without a will).

Without clearly establishing title through such a deed, the heirs will have to prove both death of their relatives and that they are the legal heirs, should they ever wish to convey the property or obtain a mortgage on the property. Ultimately, it will save a lot of time, energy and possibly money to obtain clear title to the property through probate.

Another note: my answer assumes that the grandparents held title as tenants by the entirety - if this is the case, then when the first spouse died, his/her interest in the property passed directly to the living spouse. Thus, the entire property was in the estate of the spouse to die second - so the will (or line of intestate succession, if there was no will) of this spouse would control how the entire property is conveyed to heirs.

I hope that my thoughts are helpful, and I wish your family the best in resolving these matters.