Portland, OR asked in Real Estate Law for Oregon

Q: Can a homeowner lease out property that is co-owned by their deceased siblings who is an heir to without doing probate.

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Greg Freeze
Greg Freeze
Answered
  • Port Townsend, WA
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: The direct answer to your question is, "it happens all the time." One day, the person will want to sell the property. When that happens, the title situation will need to be cleared up.

The co-owned issue can be fixed by filing the certificates of death for the siblings with Deeds & Records of the county in which the property resides. That is, unless the co-ownership was not a survivorship-styled interest.

If the property was held as tenants-in-common, but not with right-of-survivorship, then some form of probate court proceeding is required.

If the value of the interest is under $200,000, then a "small estate affidavit" can be used to transfer the interest. If the value of a sibling's interest is more than $200,000, then there needs to be a full probate.

Disclaimer: The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.