The Law Office of Jeffrey T. Spell concentrates in the area of Real Estate Litigation.

Real Estate Litigation includes: Quiet Title Actions, Heirs Property, Tax Deeds, Encroachments and Foreclosure Defense.

USEFUL DEFINITIONS and TERMINOLOGY

QUIET TITLE ACTION: A civil lawsuit brought to clear issues affecting the marketability of land.  Often brought to clear heirs property issues, tax deeds, open (but paid off) mortgages and other title defects.

HEIRS PROPERTY:  Property that has been handed down from generation to generation without the formalities of properly executed Deeds or Probate Administration.  Heirs property is a wide-spread propblem in the South Carolina lowcountry especially in the African American community.  Resolving heirs issues can be time consuiming and expensive.  The good news is that all heirs property issues can be resolved through an action in court.

TAX DEED:  A Tax Deed is issued by the Delinquent Tax Collector to the highest bidder (or his assignee) at a Tax Sale Auction.  Tax Deeds are generally not insurable and therefore not marketable.  Tax Deeds can be confirmed by Court Order.  Tax Sales and Tax Deeds can also be overturned or set aside by Court Order.

DEED OF DISTRIBUTION:  A Deed of Distribution is used in a Probate Court proceeding to distribute real property to the heirs of a decendent.  Although there is a form available from the Probate Court, I would highly recommend you ask a Real Estate lawyer to draft and record the Deed of Distribution.

This is the link to my Blog:
http://taxdeedlaw.blogspot.com/