Effective: January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
When a person who has entered into a written contract for the purchase of an interest in real property dies before the conveyance of the interest to the person, the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate, the surviving spouse, any heir, or any devisee or legatee having an interest in the contract may file an application for authority to complete the contract in the probate court of the county in which the executor or administrator was appointed. Notice of the time of the hearing on the application shall be given to the surviving spouse and heirs, if the decedent died intestate, and to the surviving spouse and devisees or legatees having an interest in the contract, if the decedent died testate, to the executor or administrator, if not the applicant, and to all other persons having an interest in the real property that is the subject of the contract. If the court is satisfied that it would be for the best interests of the estate, it may, with the consent of the vendor, authorize the executor or administrator to complete the contract, pay to the vendor the amount due on the contract, and authorize a conveyance of the interest in the real property to the persons entitled to it. If, however, the court finds that the condition of the estate at the time of the hearing does not warrant the payment out of the estate of the amount due under the contract, it may authorize the persons entitled to the interest of the decedent in the contract to pay to the vendor the amount due on the contract. The real property so conveyed shall thereafter be chargeable with the debts of the estate to the extent of the equitable interest of the estate in the real property, and may be sold in land sale proceedings, except that in the event of that sale, the persons to whom the real property shall have been conveyed shall have a prior lien on the proceeds as against the estate to the extent of any portion of the purchase price paid by them.
The executor or administrator, surviving spouse, any heir, or any devisee or legatee having an interest in the contract, may file a complaint for the alteration or cancellation of the contract in the probate court of the county in which the executor or administrator was appointed. If the decedent died intestate, the surviving spouse and heirs, and if the decedent died testate, the surviving spouse and devisees or legatees having an interest in the contract, and the executor or administrator, if not the plaintiff, together with the vendor, and all other persons having an interest in the real property that is subject to the contract, shall be made parties defendant. If the court is satisfied that it would be for the best interests of the estate, the court, with the consent of the vendor, may authorize the executor or administrator to agree to the alteration or cancellation of the contract and to execute and deliver the deeds or other instruments to the vendor that are required to make the order of the court effective. The deeds or other instruments that are executed and delivered pursuant to the court's order shall recite the order and be as binding on the parties to the suit as if made by the deceased prior to death.