Sale of Property Owned by Minors and Incompetents or Otherwise Subject to an Estate
In many instances, a title search will reveal that the property is owned (wholly or partially) by a minor child or an incompetent adult. In many instances, one or more Court Proceedings or actions must be initiated to complete the sale.
In the case of sales by minors, all Orders must be counter-signed by a Superior Court Judge, often requiring hearings before the Clerk of Court and a Superior Court Judge.
The law concerning these matters is intricate and infrequently observed by any particular title attorney/abstractor, but these matters arise dozens of times per day across the State.
We offer a FLAT RATE fee structure to qualifying Petitions to Sell real property related to Estates, Minors and/or Incompetents.
Support Services for Public Guardians and Public Administrators
As a Public Guardian, Chip understands the pressure that can be placed on these Officers of the Court.
Presently, the legal infrastructure across the nation is overwhelmed by the increased death rate due to COVID and demographic shifts.
Consequently, Public Guardians and Administrators often do not have the time or resources to tackle complex sales, especially when they involve tax and other liens levied by the United States, North Carolina, or local governments, as well as issues regarding judgments based upon criminal fines and costs and/or liens related to business that affect the title to real property (e.g. NC Department of Commerce lien).
Less frequently, there is an inherent conflict between the Public Guardian/Administrator and members of the family (often living in the home and refusing to vacate). These circumstances can be awkward, especially when the Guardian of the Person or other family members of the Ward are residing at the Ward’s home while the Ward is accumulating a hefty bill with the Nursing/Memory Care/Assisted Living facility in which they reside.
It is not that hardworking public administrators and guardians are incapable of this litigation, they are just overwhelmed with a multitude of other 'fires' that crop-up day after day, which can slow things down considerably.
We can do this faster than the average Public Guardian and can ease some of the burdens to these already over-worked public servants.
Ancillary Estates/Probate
North Carolina is blessed with breathtaking mountains, sandy beaches overlooking an ocean full of fish, world-class golf courses, an ultra-high-tech industry, a financial industry second only to New York, and some of the largest game lands in the United States.
With four temperate seasons and comparatively low taxes for retirees and vacationers, it is no wonder why so many second homes and NC property is owned by those living in States across the US and the greater world. In fact, as of 2020, in 18 of 100 Counties (mostly in the mountains or on the coast), nearly 20% of the share of the total housing stock is 2nd homes.
Chip can shepherd the sale of real property through the Court system, which includes opening and administering an Ancillary Estate, taking the appropriate steps to clear a path toward a sale, and transferring the funds to the Primary Estate and/or appropriate parties, as the case may be.
He is bonded (or bondable) for any realistic amount, and is capable of serving as the fiduciary (Guardian/Conservator/Administrator/Executor/Trustee, etc.) when the circumstances warrant.
Judicial Sales
Part and parcel to title clearing is the sales process itself. All the title clearing in the world will be for naught if the sale is not property conducted.
In all instances, any judicially supervised sale of real property must comply with North Carolina law.
Following an Order for Sale, buyers must be secured, the sales must be property reported to the Court, upset bid periods and procedures must be adhered to, sales must be confirmed, and final reports and/or orders as to the distribution of the assets must be filed with the appropriate Court.
To make matters more difficult, these rules vary depending upon the laws under which the sale is Ordered.
For example, the procedures for sale pursuant to a Partitioning Proceeding are different from sales conducted by the Personal Representative of an Estate, which are different from sales conducted for the benefit of a minor child, which are different from sales conducted for the benefit of an incompetent adult.
Due to this complexity and Chip's vast experience with such matters, Clerks of Court and Superior Court Judges frequently appoint Chip as an independent Officer of the Court to conduct sales involving Petitions to Partition, Divorce, and any other instance where the Sale of property by an unrelated attorney is required or preferable to the Court.
As of the date of this writing (June 23, 2023), Chip has been appointed by Judges and Clerks to sell hundreds of properties during his career and has six more auctions scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
As is notable in sales involving Estates, Guardianships, Minors, etc., an Order of Sale is insufficient to pass muster with title attorneys and title insurance companies. The Execution of the Order for Sale is equally important, and failure to comply with these laws can also adversely affect the ability of sellers to transfer good titles to buyers.
Expert Witness Services
During his career, Chip has served as an expert witness regarding the above matters.
Kindly contact us for additional details if you require an Expert Witness in an of the above areas of practice.
Don't Lose Your Sale Unnecessarily!
Frequently, when these circumstances arise, no local attorneys familiar with these procedures exist, or if they do, they are too overwhelmed to address these matters promptly, causing unnecessary losses of contracts and the consequential return of due diligence money (already given to the sellers). In many cases, an immediate call from Chip can put the buyers and their attorney at ease that the problem is being addressed as quickly as possible and with as much certainty as possible.