Important Documents

• Locate and review important documents that relate to the house title, such as the decedent’s will (if any) and the deed to the house. Examine the deed first. If the house is owned solely in the decedent’s name, it will most likely be probate property and pass under a will or, if the decedent died without a will, according to the state’s intestate succession laws. If the decedent owned the house jointly or only held a limited interest in the home, such as a life estate, the house will pass by operation of law.
  
  

Probate Transfers

• State probate courts have jurisdiction over probate property. Read the will or review your state’s intestate succession law to determine how the house should pass. The will could have a provision leaving the home to his wife for the remainder of her life and then passing it onto his children, for example. Under this scenario, the home would pass to the surviving spouse and then to the children when the surviving spouse dies. If there is no will, or if the will is silent, the state’s intestate succession laws determine who gets the property. Typically, the laws leave the property to the closest living relative, often the decedent’s surviving spouse, children or parents.
  
  

Automatic Title Transfer

• It is common for people to jointly own homes. If the deed indicates that the title in the home is held jointly by the husband and wife, then the house becomes the property of the surviving spouse when the other dies. Another possibility is a life estate. This allows a person to use a home for the duration of her life. A deed with a life estate interest usually names successors. Under a life estate, the home would either pass to the successor or revert to the original owner.
  
  

Other Issues

• Settling title issues for a home may involve legal action. If the home is probate property, the personal representative of the estate or a close friend or family member should file a petition in the probate court to open the decedent’s estate. To clear non-probate property title, the new owner may need to take a copy of the deed and death certificate to the property records office to update the record title. In either situation, you should seek professional help before proceeding.