Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Removing Name of Dead Spouse from Property
My husband's first wife died in 1991. We were married in 1996. Her name still appears on property tax records and on county assessor's records. We have a equity mortgage in both of our names. We were told we needed to submit an affidavit death of a spouse to remove her name from the records. What does he have to do to put my name on the records and can we use your Californa General Affidavit form to do this?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Removing Name of Dead Spouse from Property
a quit claim deed.
Joel Selik
Attorney/RE Broker
www.seliklaw.com
Re: Removing Name of Dead Spouse from Property
An affidavit of death of joint tenant will remove the decedent from the tax records. You didn't indicate whether or not your name is already on the property, which I would assume would be the case if you signed a mortgage. If your name is not on the property, your husband could place it on by a grant deed or quit claim deed. A better option might be to prepare a simple trust agreement and place the property in a trust. That way you can make an estate plan and clean up the title issues. I would be happy to help you with these issues if you contact our office.
Re: Removing Name of Dead Spouse from Property
If the property is held as joint tenants, an affidavit of death of joint tenant will remove your husband's first wife name from the county property and assessor records. If the property is as community property a spousal set-aside through the probate court should be done. This is a simplified probate proceeding. You may want to do this any way, if there are possible tax issues involved.
After the above proceeding, to put you on title your husband should execute and record a deed. The above proceedings should be done very carefully with the advice of a competent attorney, for there are important tax consequences. An experienced attorney after learning the full facts can advise you to accomplish the transfers with the least amount of tax consequences.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me or call me at (818) 991-6664.
Good luck and thank you for your inquiry.
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