Probate Situation/Seller Has Died

Probate situations are very complicated and regulations and possibilities vary heavily by state, county, and city regulations. There is no firm process, but these are general guidelines.

General Guidelines

1. Consult with an attorney as early as possible in the process. It is highly likely the next of kin you are talking with have no idea the exact specific details of what they need to do or what legal arrangements were officially made.
2. Don’t be afraid to sign a contract (at a price that works for you of course) and parking in escrow while the probate situation is figured out. Having a signed commitment avoids the sellers being woo’d by other investors.
3. You will likely need to have some kind of correspondence with all next of kin of the deceased. Approach this early with your point of contact. If there is any animosity between next of kin, you will have to be the point of contact for all of them.
4. Finding next of kin can be very challenging. Best options (in no particular order) can be:
   1. Google
   2. Social Media
   3. Propstream (related properties tab)
   4. Jail/Court records
   5. Neighbors of Subject Property
   6. Hiring a Private Investigator (expensive and takes a long time)
5. Keep the seller on board by reinforcing that they really will not be able to sell until this probate challenge is dealt with. Sometimes sellers can get anxious and impatient and decide other investors might be willing to buy without all the probate nonsense. This obviously isnt possible, but other investors will say whatever they need to to steal your deal.
6. Probates can take anywhere from weeks to years, so settle in and prepare to be working for a while.