Q: What is the best way to add a son and remove the deceased mother from the title for an owned home in MD?
Son is already in the will but the father is planning to remarry some time this year.
A:
To give a clear answer an attorney would first need to verify the titling of the existing deed. Assuming the parents owned as "tenants by the entirety," title would legally be in the surviving father's name after his wife died. If the surviving parent owner wants to make sure their child(ren) inherit rather than a new spouse, they have at least two good options. They might either A) create a revocable trust and transfer the property to their revocable trust or B) do a life estate deed listing the child(ren) as eventual owners.
Revocable Trusts are to some extent "oversold" but they can be very useful in second marriage situations. Trusts not only avoid probate but they can go into great detail spelling out the respective rights of children and spouse. The planner first would create a trust, then deed their property into the trust. Separately, life estate deeds can do an excellent job of transferring real estate after the original owner dies without need for court involvement.
The surviving parent might reach out to an estate planning attorney to talk about their goals. Any competent estate planning attorney should be able to discuss these options and assist with the deed. While not legal advice, I hope that this general information helps.
A: The usual answer would be a deed, but you first need to establish who has title and can issue the deed. If the named title-holder is the deceased mother alone, you probably need to open a probate estate and have the personal representative re-title after determining the father's share of the property. If the title was by entireties, then the father has sole title, and he needs to execute and record the deed along with evidence that his wife passed. If the facts are just slightly different in ways that may not seem different to you, the result can bee quite different as to the claims of the second wife. You need to protect the title by reviewing the facts with a lawyer.
Cedulie Renee Laumann agrees with this answer
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