Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Get Your Deeds In Order - ISSUE TWO - Other Deceased Relative or Person Still on Deed


Yesterday, I discussed taking a deceased spouse's name off of your Deed. Today, we look at other deceased people whose names still appear on a Deed. In order to remove a deceased person's name off of a Deed, it has to be determined who received the interest in the property upon the person's death. Did the person hold title with the others as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship or was the interest held as Tenants in Common?

Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship
If the property was held with rights of survivorship then the interest of the deceased person will go to the other owners named on the Deed. A new Deed can be issued with just the names of those currently listed with the deletion of the deceased person.

Tenants in Common
If the property was held as Tenants in Common than the interest of the deceased person will be distributed in accordance with the person's will or if the person died without a will the interest will be distributed in accordance with the state's intestate laws. This could get very complex and confusing. But, it must be addressed because it will continue to grow more complex otherwise. For example, what if the deceased person's heirs are also deceased? Who did those heirs leave the property to? And it goes on and on the longer one waits to clean up family Deeds.

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