Wills, Estates, and Property Conveyance

A property transfer can take as little as a few weeks or as long as several decades. The significant matters in a situation like this are how efficient the executor of the deed is and how complicated the estate is. A good, efficient executor will get things done quickly, but some people should not get involved in such matters.

If you are just looking for a period of time to mention, then make it about six months. That isn't an extreme.

Just echoing what Snick says, it depends very much on the case at hand. Not sure about the US but certainly in the UK (where I studied) it can take a lot longer if the land wasn't specifically bequeathed in any deed or the owner died intestate. This happened with my flat in Glasgow - it belonged to my great aunt, my father was the only living relative, but she had died without making a will and so it took something like three years to actually get the title deeds passed to him. Then when he transferred ownership to me (legally, I bought the flat from him for £1 to make the missives pass through without any hassle) it took about a year for it to go through to the Land Register, before I was finally sent the title deeds. And that was without any complications really.

Does the person inherit through a will or under statute? For both the technical answer is the property transfer upon the death and can be conveyed immediately. The practical answer is different.

If there is a will, and the will is unlikely to be disputed, you can do it as soon as the judge appoints an executor, which can happen in a very few days from the date of death. I've seen some real estate transfer within 72 hours of the death, but this was a transaction that was already in the process and the title was supposed to be signed over when the decedent went into the hospital, where he lingered for only a day or two. So everything was in place and the daughter, who was the sole beneficiary under the will, was fine with going forward. (The transfer involved both real estate and her father's business.)

Without a will it's going to take longer to sort things out, but if there's a reason, could be done within a couple of weeks.

But normally, as Snick says, I'd be looking at the six month mark. And depending upon the state, there may not be an actual conveyance, beyond the probate estate. A will is actually a conveyance document.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Even with a simple estate six months is a reasonable time. Sometimes trustees need to be kicked to wake them up.