Q: Deed held as husband & wife,(no vesting) husband passed, can wife remove name without going through probate?
Interspousal grant deed filed as husband and wife no vesting, and now the husband has passed away does the wife have to go through probate in order to remove his name from the deed? His will states that everything goes to wife but was damaged and will no longer be accepted top file for probate.
A: Whenever a vesting is not specified, California law defaults to tenants in common. So the wife does not have the right of survivorship and must complete some type of probate proceeding to transfer the husband's half of the house to the wife. As the surviving spouse, the wife could file a simple spousal property petition if the house is community property. Call or email an attorney for a full consultation.
A: If she is the only beneficiary of the husband's estate, then she might be able to file the death certificate with the county recorder claiming to be the sole beneficiary of the estate. An estate planning lawyer should be able to assist with that documentation.
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