The House Is Still in a Late Relative's Name: Tangled Titles in Philadelphia

You're not alone. The City says more than 10,000 Philadelphians have a tangled title, and a lot of the help to fix one costs nothing.

Can I sell a house that's still in my late parent's name?

Yes, once someone has the legal right to sign. At Vivid Properties, we buy houses still in a late relative's name, and we can give you our offer before the paperwork's done, so you know your number while it moves.

The house doesn't pass to you on its own, even if that's what your mom wanted. The City puts it plainly: you go through probate first. The Register of Wills names someone to handle the estate (an administrator, when there's no will) and gives them papers called letters. Pennsylvania law then lets that person sell the house for the estate.

Two bits of good news. The administrator can sign once the letters are granted. And when an administrator sells while settling an estate, Pennsylvania's seller disclosure form doesn't apply.

How do I know if my house has a tangled title?

Look at whose name is on the deed. If you live there and think of it as yours, but the deed shows someone who has died, the City calls that a tangled title. The Department of Records (City Hall, Room 111, (215) 686-1483) can look up the name for you.

You may have already felt it. The City says that without a clear title, you can't get home loans or grants, and insurance, utility and tax help get hard to come by. Houses in this spot are also easier targets for deed fraud and foreclosure.

Who inherits a house in Pennsylvania when there was no will?

Pennsylvania law decides, in a set order. A spouse comes first, the children share what the spouse doesn't get, and the list only moves down a step when nobody's left on the step above. Inheritance tax depends on how you're related to the person who died.

When several people inherit, they own the house together as tenants in common: each heir owns a share of the whole house, not a floor or a room. Inheritance tax is due at the death and late nine months after it. Our guide to selling an inherited house in Philadelphia covers the tax and probate fees in more detail.

How do you clear a tangled title, step by step?

The free help can do much of this with you.

1. Find out whose name is on the deed. Ask the Department of Records, and write the name down exactly as it appears.
2. Gather the papers. A death certificate, a photo ID, a birth certificate for whoever will handle the estate, and any will or old probate papers. For the Title Clearance Unit, add two proofs of income, like pay stubs or bank statements.
3. Ask the Title Clearance Unit to look at it. Fill out its intake form online (about 30 minutes) or walk in to City Hall, Room 183, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you qualify, it helps with probate papers, searches for missing relatives, and finds liens, back taxes and violations on the house.
4. Open the estate. With no will, someone files a petition for letters of administration with the Register of Wills Probate Department (City Hall, Room 180, (215) 686-6255) and pays fees based on the size of the estate. It's usually a spouse or a child of the person who died.
5. Agree on who's in charge. With several heirs, the others can step aside for one administrator (the City calls it renouncing), or they can serve together as co-administrators.
6. Record a new deed, or sell. The administrator can deed the house to the heirs and record it at the Department of Records. The City says to have a professional, like a title company or a lawyer, write the deed. Or the administrator can sell the house for the estate.

If the problem is bigger than a death, like an old deed nobody can explain, a lawyer may file a quiet title action: a court case asking a judge to settle who owns the land, or whether an old deed or claim still counts.

What should you bring to your first appointment?

Answers to these questions. Fill in what you can, and don't worry about the blanks. The Title Clearance Unit can tell you how to get papers you're missing.

What free help is there in Philadelphia?

Plenty, so start here before you pay anyone. In 2022, the City put $7.6 million into four nonprofit legal aid groups to clear tangled titles: Community Legal Services, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Philly VIP and the Senior Law Center.

The Fund has rules. Household income can't top 80% of the area median ($68,750 a year for one person, $98,150 for a family of four), savings and other assets can't top $20,000 (the house doesn't count), and the house has to be your main home, now or once the title's clear. So it fits families who are keeping the house. If yours has decided to sell, ask the legal aid groups which help still fits.

How long does it take, and what can it cost?

There's no set clock. The City says it can take time, depending on how tangled things are. One heir and a recent death moves faster than three generations and a missing cousin.

Paying for everything yourself adds up. In 2022, Philly VIP estimated about $9,200 to clear a tangled title on a home valued at the median of $88,800, without free lawyers, fee waivers or other help. Free legal aid, waived recording fees and Fund grants change that math a lot. The Register of Wills' own fees depend on the size of the estate. For back taxes and water bills, see our guide to liens and back taxes.

What if the family doesn't agree, or someone can't be found?

It slows things down, but it doesn't stop them. If the heirs can't agree on who should run the estate, one or all of them can ask the Register of Wills for a hearing. The Register can choose the administrator, even an independent one. If a relative can't be found, the Title Clearance Unit can search for lost or unknown heirs.

Once there's an administrator, the sale runs through that person, not a family vote, and what's left after the estate's debts is split by each heir's share. Our guide to selling a parent's house has more on families who don't agree.

What if the person on the deed died years ago, or two generations back?

Still fixable. The Title Clearance Unit starts with the same questions: who's on the deed, when they died, and who survived them. If one of those heirs has since died too, their share is part of their own estate, so you may need to work through more than one death.

• Old debts can be waiting. Inheritance tax from the first death may never have been paid, and back taxes and water bills pile up on a house in limbo.
• Watch for deed fraud. The City warns that tangled houses are targets. Once the deed's in your name, sign up for the Department of Records' free Deed Fraud Guard, which emails you when a document is recorded with your name on it. Our guide to letters and deed alerts has more.

Should you keep the house or sell it?

Lots of families keep it, and the City's programs are built for that. Others can't keep up with it.

If listing your house would put more money in your pocket, we'll tell you. No pressure either way.

How can we help?

At Vivid Properties, we're a local, family-owned company, and houses in a late relative's name are part of what we buy. Call or text and you'll get a real local person, and you'll usually have our written offer within 24 hours.

We buy the house as-is, so nobody has to fix it up or clean it out. We pay all the closing costs. If the house owes anything, like back taxes, a water bill or an old mortgage, it's paid off from the sale at closing. You pick the closing day, once the administrator can sign.

Keithrollin T. sold us a house that was still in his grandmother's name:

More on selling in the city on our Philadelphia page, and more from sellers on our reviews page.

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Questions families ask us

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, talk to a Pennsylvania attorney or tax professional.