Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Re: Deed

Half of the property will be considered inherited (the half that his mother still owned) and the other half will not. The property can be transferred to you and your husband (though it may take a couple of deeds to accomplish this transfer) only with the signature of the personal representative. Depending on how whether his mother left a will leaving the property to someone else or how many heirs she had will depend on whether you and your husband need to buy someone else's interest. For example, if his mother had three children and each of them is to receive an equal share in her estate, you and your husband will need to buy out the interest of each of his siblings. Each would hold a 1/6 interest in the property, so you will likely have to pay 1/6 the fair market value of the property to each sibling.

You should consult with an attorney to ensure that the estate is properly opened; that this asset is properly reported; and that the deeds are properly drafted. If you do not, you may have to hire an attorney later to open the estate and straighten out the title work before you can sell the property. That will be much more costly.

Re: Deed

The answer to your question regarding your husband's mother's property depends on the language used when his name was added to the deed. If she deeded it to herself and him as "joint tenants with right of survivorship", then when she died he automatically became the sole owner of the property, and it does not pass through her estate. If she deeded a half interest to him as a "tenant in common", then the half she kept does go through her estate, and who gets it depends on whether she left it in a will. If she had no will, then other family members, along with your husband, will be entitled to a share of her half. Whatever share your husband received is either gifted or inherited, depending on the above analysis. If he then puts your name on the deed, that would be presumed to constitute a gift to you of half the property unless there is some indication that he intended something different.