For Fourteen Years My Son Lived Rent-Free in a House He Believed Was His

“He thinks the house was a gift,” I said.

“He believes it was all settled fourteen years ago.”

“Belief isn’t a legal document,” Margaret said.

She tapped her pen twice again.

“A spoken promise carries no weight at all against a registered deed in the state of Illinois.”

She slid a single sheet of paper out of a red folder stamped by the county clerk.

“What’s that page?” I asked.

“An unusual title search request,” Margaret said.