Q: my aunt put me on the deed to her house she passed away and didnt have a will do i need to go throuqh probate

A: Sorry for your loss. Your question appears in the California section, although you appear to be in Florida. This answer ONLY applies to property in California. If the deed was given to you, or recorded, prior to her death, then you may not have to go through probate. Whether probate is necessary depends on factors which include how you were added to the deed. For example, if the deed is a "transfer on death" deed which names you, then no probate is necessary. Similarly, if you and you aunt are named in the deed as "joint tenants", then no probate is necessary. Even if no probate is needed, there is still paperwork which must be done.

A: It depends how you are on the deed. If it names you both as joint tenants then no probate should be necessary. If there is no survivorship clause of some kind on the deed, then you possibly will have to put her part through probate.

A: Sorry to hear that your aunt passed away.

This information that follows only applies to deeds in California. If the deed is in another state, you will need get information related to that state. Assuming the house is in California, first you need a copy of the deed. You can get a copy from a realtor in the state where your aunt has the home. The deed has to be "recorded" which means filed in the county recorder's office. All deeds recorded are public information. If it doesn't show up in the recorder's office, then it hasn't been recorded. If the deed has been properly notarized it may still be valid and can still be recorded after her death. It is important that you have an attorney look at the deed and give you proper advice because there are different kinds of deeds. Yes, you might have to go through probate. No-one can tell you yes or no until they see the deed.

When you ask a question online, like here, the answers you get are only going to be basic information, a starting point. Attorneys are trained to talk to you to find out all the important details of your story. Getting all the details is very important because it will make a big difference in the legal information given to you. It is strongly recommended that even if you get a response here on Justia, that you also talk to an attorney. Many have free first interviews. Even if you have to pay, it is worth it because you talking to a professional who is going to focus on you.

Also there is no requirement that you talk to an attorney in your area. Any attorney licensed in California can help you no matter where you live as long as the issue is in California. The interview would be done by phone, Zoom, Skype, Facetime or some other type online method. Even if the attorney is in your area, many attorneys are only talking to people this way due to the Covid pandemic, so you couldn’t have an interview in their office anyway. Give one of us a call and find out. We are here to help.