Q: How can my mother keep her home from having to go through probate after her death?She has put her heirs on the deed.

A: Yiiu need to make sure that you are not only added on the deed, but that the deed also is a joint tenants with right of survivorship deed. Otherwise, your mother's interest in the house continues after her death. A tenant has all rights afforded her under Georgia's landlord tenant laws. None of those rights involve ownership. A written lease is advisable to insure no issues with the rental.

A: First, I am not providing legal advice about your particular matter. You should retain a probate attorney to answer questions about your particular situation. To answer your questions, an attorney would need to review the deed. However, I shall provide some general information. There is more than one form of co-ownership of property in Georgia. If real property is owned by multiple owners as tenants in common, the undivided interest of an owner passes into her probate estate on her death. If real property is owned by multiple owners as joint tenants with survivorship, when an owner dies, her interest passes to the surviving owners outside the probate estate. Although probate would not be required in the case of joint tenancy with survivorship, usually an affidavit would filed in the county where the property is located setting forth the facts concerning the owner's death and attaching a copy of the death certificate of the deceased owner. Regarding tenancy, if the tenant has a written lease for a specific period of time, the lease would be binding on the deceased landlord's estate (unless the lease provided otherwise). If the tenancy is at will (i.e., without a fixed term), then the landlord's successor in interest would be required to give the tenant sixty (60) days notice of the termination of the tenancy before instituting a dispossessory action.