Title Disputes After Probate or Administration

Title to realty generally passes by sale, by devise or by descent. Each method of transfer through its respective system of rules and requirements seeks to protect the interests of society as well as the interests of the immediate parties to a transfer of ownership. When a sale, as an inter vivos transfer, follows a transfer of realty by either devise or descent, a gap may appear in the protection afforded to the various parties by each system of rules. Specifically, the purchase of estate realty from a distributee under probate or administration may jeopardize the purchaser's status as owner. Often a distributee, who acquired title by devise or by descent, will convey his title after probate administration to a good faith purchaser for value. A title dispute over the ownership of the estate realty will inevitably ensue if subsequent probate proceedings establish that the grantor, as initial distributee is not the intended distributee who holds the valid title claim to the estate property. The conflicting title claims of the good faith purchaser and the intended distributee present courts with a particularly difficult problem because four parties have different interests in its resolution. The purchaser demands protection of his title on the equitable ground that he gave value in good faith without notice of any adverse claims. The intended beneficiary, on the other hand, claims the estate property on the legal ground that title vested in him at the moment of decedent's death. Having received the sales proceeds, the initial distributee who sold the estate property in a good faith belief of his ownership seeks to protect his economic position. Finally, society has interests in ensuring stability of land titles while effectuating decedent's intent for distribution of his estate. A fair remedy accommodates not only the interests of the immediate parties to the title dispute but also those interests of the initial distributee and society. Courts traditionally, however, have protected the rights of parties to a sale to the detriment of those individuals who derive ownership rights from descent or distribution. This treatment suggests that inter vivos transfer of property is superior to transfer by death. Descent and distribution statutes, however, do not acknowledge a hierarchical relationship between sale and transfer by death. Further analysis of the problems presented by an intended distributee's claim to estate property held by a bona fide purchaser identifies the nature and extent of those interests requiring judicial protection. This analysis also suggests the need for legislative protection.