Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
ex-husband died, mortgage title still under both names
My girlfriends ex-husband past away recently. She and him bought the house together and later divorced. When they divorced he made her hand over the house through some notary. she still lives in the house and has to pay the mortagage, she found out that the title is still under both of their names and the mortgage company is willing to change the title to her name with a proof of death certificate and $100. She feels guilty and wonders if this is legal, since her ex-husbands sister wants to go tru probate.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: ex-husband died, mortgage title still under both names
Advice to GF: Look out for #1. Apparently the house was in a "joint tenancy" and it's now hers. Also file a notice of fact of death with the county recorder. Get a local attorney to do this for $100. If the sister goes to court she (the sister) will have an uphill battle, maybe she won't be able to afford to hire an attorney, or if she does she will settle cheap.
Re: ex-husband died, mortgage title still under both names
If the deed is under both names, it depends on how it is titled. If titled as "married couple" then there may be grounds for starting the Probate; and it may wind up being to her benefit to do so.
If title is in joint tenancy, then she is the surviving joint tenant and she shoud take the entirety with a step-up in basis for his 1/2 interest.
It may be best to retain counsel to assist your girlfriend with this one, sounds like there is ging to be a fight whether she wants one or not.
We do specialze in wills, trusts estates and Probate matters in case you would like our assistace. If so, please feel free to contact me directly at the email address provided by LawGuru or through one of our firm's sites; PasadenaEstatePlanning.com and our very informative site No-Probate.com.
Warmest Regards,
Scott
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