In 2019, a woman bought a Missouri home at a tax sale; a beneficiary deed complicated who really owned it; what exactly happened?

A woman in Missouri bought a property at a tax sale in 2019 for $6,089. She had hoped to acquire the ownership by paying the outstanding property taxes. But, a beneficiary deed recorded before the ex-owner's death had transferred the property rights to her son.

Notably, the buyer failed to notify him of his rights to redeem the property. The dispute later went to court.

What exactly happened?

The case is Diana J. Thompson and other v. Heirs of Kathryn L. Metcalf and others. In 2016, a woman in Marshall, Missouri, signed a beneficiary deed transferring her property to her son, Joseph, upon her death. The ownership was passed on to him as Kathryn died in November 2016, and under the Missouri law, ownership was transferred to Joseph.


The property taxes went unpaid. The property was auctioned again in August 2019 as it failed to sell at a 2018 tax sale.

On August 26, 2019, Diana Thompson bought the property for $6,089.46. Notably, Thompson knew about the beneficiary deed and that a tenant claimed to be paying rent to Joseph. Despite all of this, Thompson sent the redemption notices to Kathryn. She reportedly did not attempt to notify Joseph before applying for the tax deed.

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The tax deed

The county later issued a deed transferring the property to Thompson. Joseph then transferred the property to his siblings and they challenged Thompson's claim to ownership.

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The final ruling

On November 5, 2024, the Missouri Court of Appeals, affirmed the lower court's decision and held that the recorded beneficiary deed constituted a publicly recorded claim. It said that this entitled Joseph to notice of his right to redeem the property.

However, the lower court awarded Thompson the taxes paid, with interest. Her claim for reimbursement for improvements was not established before the court.