Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

My husband and I live in California, married since 1999. He qualified for a VA loan for $300,000 in his name alone and bought our home June 2016. My name is not on the Deed either. He is retired from the State (25 yrs). I currently work just part time. He has no Life insurance, no will, no trust, no MPI on our house. I am concerned that upon his death, what position does this leave me in if he only has a retirement? Do I have rights to keep our home or will the bank take it if I am not protected in some way?


Asked on 8/29/16, 9:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

If your husband dies without a will, you will inherit the house and any other assets he has in his name only, by operation of law. If you have a living child or children, he, she, or they will be entitled to share in the inheritance in a proportion that depends on how many children there are. Unfortunately you will have to go through probate in order to inherit, unless he creates a trust and/or puts you on title to the house as "joint tenants." "Joint tenants" are the closest thing in the law to magic words, because they mean that if one person on title dies, the other person automatically gets full ownership without any legal proceedings.

As for the bank, the law requires that as long as the payments are kept up, they must allow the executor of the estate to keep the loan in place during probate, and allow the heirs to keep the loan in place once the property is put in their name after probate. Only if ownership changes hands after that can the bank demand the loan be paid off or refinanced.

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Answered on 8/29/16, 10:10 am


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