Q: Dad is refinancing home and mom is not on title. It says he is a married man on it. Title is joined with daughter.
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Does wife has any rights to the house?
A: In Florida she likely does if it is their homestead and she did not sign a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement or signed any waiver towards the property. Spouses have very substantial rights in both divorce and probate. I would encourage you to speak with an estate planning attorney if this is related to homestead and related to potential probate currently or in the future. If the title says he is a married man, there is little that can be done with the property without her approval/authorization in the future.
A: Whether her name is on the title or not in Florida a mortgage will not be a valid lien on homestead real property unless spouse joins and signs mortgage. This could very well cause problems for your Mom in the future is she survives Dad. Since it is quite usual to title property in this manner when there is a married couple living in the home perhaps this is the time to talk to an attorney to do some planning for the future and to determine if the title to the property needs to be updated.
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