Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
“My grandparents and my great aunt are the owners of this property. It has been in their family for years but all they have is a quick claim deed obtained by my great aunt when her aunt gave it to her before she died.In 2005, the neighbor next to the property took all the unknown SUCCESSORS of this woman that happened to be all deceased ancestors that had the property before my grandparents and great aunt. None of my living family was notified and all the case online says is quiet claime title. I dont know what that means. I emailed the attorney listed as the acting attorney, and she claimes she didnt even work the case. How can I find out what happened and what rights we have.Why is it ok to take dead people to court and not notify their living relatives?”
I’m not quite sure I understand your question. However, I’m guessing that the neighbor filed what is known as a Quiet Title action, which is a request that a court “quiet” (that is, resolve and remove disputes regarding) the title to a particular property.
In general, a quiet title action needs to involve all the people who have any claim regarding that property, which normally means that those people would be served with the lawsuit. However, because of the nature of a quiet title action, the law gives some allowance for the fact that there may be unknown claimants, who may need to be served indirectly, usually by publishing notice in the local newspaper.
To answer your direct quesiton, the quickest way to find out what happened (since you’ve already had no luck calling the attorney) would be to go to the court and look at the file. As for what your (or your family’s) rights might be, that can often be a very complicated question, so the best I can suggest is to consult with your own attorney. The sooner you do this, the better, as your rights could be time sensitive.
