Michigan woman’s survivorship deed upheld over daughter’s challenge

A Michigan appeals court has upheld a survivorship deed signed 14 years ago, ruling that a house in Troy belongs to a woman who was considered a grandmother by the owner, rather than the owner's only legal heir. A three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that granted partial summary disposition in favour of Jessica Rae Harless. The legal challenge was brought by Anita Lanctot, who served as the personal representative of the estate of her late mother, Shirley Ann Page. The dispute focused on a single-family home at 212 Hickory Drive in Troy, Michigan. On 30 November 2012, Page signed and recorded a quitclaim deed that transferred the property from her sole ownership into the names of herself and Harless. Although Harless was not related to Page by blood or law, court records state that she considered Page her grandmother.