Inheritance is not anymore an unusual thing done as someone with possessions worthy of passing over dies. Properties, titles, rights, and obligations, upon the death of an individual are passed on to the heirs. Rich families usually pass on vast lands properties, huge houses, and large sum of money. If one is lucky, the inherited objects are more than the expected or if not, too less that the only choice left is to sell. A lot opt to selling a property to gain more. Hence, below are the documents needed to sell inherited property.

Aside from preparing the house – doing some repairs, adding some features, etc. – documents must be prepared, as well. First, you have to check the house’s status and verify your ownership by securing the Transfer of Inherited Property document. In the case that the registered owner dies intestate without any debt and the property was not yet transferred to the heirs and the heirs wish to do so, the following documents must be presented to the Register of Deeds:

a. Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate (or Affidavit of Adjudication if there is only one heir)

b. Owner’s duplicate certificate of title

c. Affidavit of publication from newspaper that the extrajudicial settlement was published once a week for three consecutive weeks

d. BIR Certificate to Register (after payment of estate tax and documentary stamps)

e. BIR estate tax confirmation receipt

f. Transfer tax receipt (from decedent to heirs), and

g. Real estate tax clearance

Second, connect with a tax adviser to understand any tax implications of selling the home as heirs should also check if there are any liens on the property. Find out if there is any mortgage on the property and if so, you’ll need the relevant paperwork such as the mortgage account number to find out the outstanding amount.

Nonetheless, if the property will be sold by the heirs after the ownership was transferred, the following additional documents are required to be presented to the Register of Deeds:

a. Deed of Sale

b. BIR Certificate of authority to Register the Sale (after payment of capital gains or withholding tax and documentary stamps)

c. BIR confirmation receipt for capital gains/withholding tax and documentary stamps

d. Transfer Tax receipt (from heirs to buyers), and

e. Articles of incorporation and board resolution (if buyer is a corporation)  

The bottom-line is that, each case must be examined thoroughly taking into account factors relevant to the determination of the documents needed to sell inherited property as well as the value of the properties comprising the estate, period of delay in completing the documents, etc, the heirs or the estate administrator will face other challenges.