Q: How can my 86 year old Mother have my deceased step-father's name removed from our house deed?
My Mother and I share a house and she wants to be sure our house goes to me, should anything happen to her. But my deceased step-father's name is still on the deed. She wants to have a new deed made with his name removed and my name added.
A: If they were married and owned the home as tenants by the entireties, she automatically got the property by right of survivorship. That means that she now owns the property outright and can ignore his name on the deed. If she wants to convey the property to you or add you as an owner of the property, a lawyer can write a new deed and accomplish that. In other words, you can forget about your step-father's name on the deed, if they owned the property as tenants by the entireties. In the unlikely event that they owned the property as tenants in common, however, it is far more complicated.
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