There are many things that can happen to a person's estate. After your grandma dies, any one who claims to be owed money must be dealt with first. There may be medical bills or other bills. You only inherit the house IF ALL THE BILLS ARE PAID first and the house is still free and clear. Then you need to prepare and record a deed. You also need to talk to an insurance agent about some house insurance. You need the utilities changed over to your name and you need to check with the city to make sure the taxes have been paid. In fact, you may want to pay for a title search, just to make sure that there are no liens on the house. You will need a steady form of income to stay in the house. I am sure that your grandma wanted this to be a great opportunity for you to start your own life. If you allow the house to be sold at tax sale or to be damaged by fire or other uninsured catastrophy, you will have lost everything your grandma wanted for you. If you do not "get" the house until you are 25, and you are 18 now.. then you do not own the house. You cannot make the decisions. On the other hand the "owner" (that is, your aunt), may let you occupy the house before you own it but only if you convince her it is a good idea for example, you should pay rent and all the utilities and do all the maintenence on the house.
Answered on Dec 03rd, 2012 at 12:40 PM