Family Took Possession of the House We Lived in, Removed Our Property

My question involves personal property located in the State of: Texas
My wife and I were living in the house that belonged to my dad. My mother had divorced him relinquished ownership in the divorce. I took care of my father until his death and my mother and siblings were told by my father before he passed that I was to take ownership of the house back in 2005. I've lived there since on my own, I married and we had just had a baby girl in Dec. 2011. April 2012 we travel to Maine to visit my wife's family, her father has an accident so we stay a little longer and I call a neighbor to get our mail and we are told family members had been in our home and packed our belongings. Of course our most expensive items are gone, electronics, appliances, furniture, clothing etc. the remainder is placed in a dirty garage at my brothers. Their excuse is that we "left and abandoned our home" because we rented an apartment temporarily in Maine. My mother claims it's her house even though in my parents divorce she gave up ownership and everyone of my family members involved are claiming no knowledge who has what property. What can I do legally to take them to court or get them to pay up for taking our property and leaving my family homeless and without belongings?

Quote:

---

I took care of my father until his death and my mother and siblings were told by my father before he passed that I was to take ownership of the house back in 2005.

---

if he did not put this in a will or established a mechanism transferring ownership to you upon his death, his statements are meaningless.

Quote:

---

What can I do legally to take them to court or get them to pay up for taking our property and leaving my family homeless and without belongings?

---

first, determine if you had any legal right to be in the house. Then, if it was under no other manner than that of a tenant, figure out who the landlord would be, That is likely the owner of the home.

then, sue them for an illegal eviction and the losses you incurred.

And was a deed executed that gave your father sole ownership after the divorce?

Not that I am aware of. My mother basically abandoned my father to be with someone else. He was pretty much distraught and didn't do anything to claim sole ownership of the house. She never wanted anything to do with the house and this since I was caring for him and living there I assumed all responsibilities for the house and paying taxes.

you need to investigate this. You need to find out if title remained in your mother and father's name and how it was held (joint tenants with rights of survivorship or tenants in common or, if Texas allows for it, tenants in the entirety). Only then can you begin to determine if you have any rights to the home.


Regardless, you would likely still have an action against whomever took, lost, damage, stole, or any other means possible to deprive you of your personal possessions.

As you were paying the taxes on the home, do you recall in whose name the tax bills were sent? Was an estate probated after your father passed away?

I was in possession of the original title of the house until everything was stolen. I'm not sure who has the title or if anyone is even aware I had the title in a folder. It showed joint ownership but some investigation showed my mother relinquished all rights and ownership of the house in her divorce decree. Tax records came in both parents names, but I made payments and lived in the house over 12 years peacefully until going on vacation to spend time in Maine.

if this is real estate, there is no "title" to hold. Title is an intangible. The chain of deeds and other actions involving the property all put together makes up "the title".



If this is real estate, the deed would have been registered at the county land office (register of deeds, or whatever else Texas might call the office). Some are even accessible online.

Quote:

---

It showed joint ownership but some investigation showed my mother relinquished all rights and ownership of the house in her divorce decree.

---

if your father never acted to remove your mother from the chain of title, she is likely the current owner of the property, especially if it was held joint with rights of survivorship.

Yes you're right it is the deed of the house. But even if she relinquished all rights of ownership to the house in her divorce, does that mean anything?

maybe but more likely probably not. While the divorce decree is what it is, if your father failed to take the necessary action to remove her from the current title, well, you are where you are. Often times after a divorce couples make side agreements. It will be impossible to argue something such as this didn't happen here.


Another problem even if she had been removed from the title, that still doesn't mean it is yours. The property was never deeded to you.

Was your fathers estate ever probated? Since you have a sibling, if there was no will, even if your mother didn't have claim to it, you would have inherited, at most, (unless there was a will stating otherwise) 1/2. If you had more siblings than just your brother, then your share would be even less.

and that is presuming the house could be kept and not be sold to liquidate it to pay off debts of the estate.

Understood, so right now the only real case I have is the theft of our property by my family I'm gathering from all this?

Quote:

---

Quoting Flyingtiger1217

---

Yes you're right it is the deed of the house. But even if she relinquished all rights of ownership to the house in her divorce, does that mean anything?

---

She either conveyed her interest back to your father, or she did not. If she did and he registered the deed conveying that interest, then she's not on the title. If she did not, then it is something that should have been addressed when his estate was probated... if it was probated.

If you and the others have been content to leave the title of the property in the name of your father, and possibly your father and mother, rather than probating the estate, then it seems like a reasonable time to correct that omission.

Quote:

---

Quoting Flyingtiger1217

---

Understood, so right now the only real case I have is the theft of our property by my family I'm gathering from all this?

---

What's your evidence of theft, as opposed to their discarding items you content were valuable? Do you know them to be using some of the missing items? Can you prove that you own those items, in the event that they say that the items belonged to your father?

My evidence that they have our valuables is that they admitted to taking them but won't say who has what exactly. There was nothing left of my fathers as over the years we replaced everything with new things of our own. I've been over to various family members homes and seen our items in their homes. There is no question as to value or what items they were because my wife and I bought everything from appliances, furniture, clothes, jewelry etc and we have specific taste in things that make OUR items obvious in their homes. Example, my wife bought a professional series mixer in an exclusive color because she is a baker and a niece of mine has it in her kitchen also a crib that was brand new my wife and I bought for our new born daughter that is in her child's room. Over time they've come out admitting to owning certain things of my wife's, daughter and mine.

You can decide for yourself whether you're going to take action on the real estate / probate issue.

As you have already been told, you can sue your relatives for taking your property, and can recover damages for the reasonable value of whatever property you can prove that they took.