Oak Park, MI asked in Probate and Estate Planning for Michigan

Q: When my mother passed away the deed to the house was in her name and my brothers name was on it in survivorship only,

My brother has recently passed away he never put the deed in his name so is it part of his estate or would it be my mother's estate?

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: It's unclear from the question whether your brother was a remainderman on a lady bird deed (he only became owner when your mother passed) or whether your brother was a joint tenant with your mother, who had right of survivorship. Either way, if your brother survived your mother, the house likely is part of your brother's estate now. For a definitive answer, take your question and any papers, deeds, etc to a local real estate or estate planning attorney for a consult.

A: If the deed was 'mom for life and remainder interest to son' and son lived longer than mom, then the deed WAS in son's name at the time mom passed. The fact no death certificate or new deed was recorded is not relevant for the analysis here (although that should have been done it won't impact things usually).

The property needs to be retitled from mom's name to son's (usually by simply recording a death certificate and property transfer affidavit) and then distributed from son's estate.

HOWEVER the exact process can be somewhat tricky. The BEST option is for son's heirs (that may be his wife/kids, or it may be you (and others?) as a surviving sibling(s) if there are no wife and kids). Your best option is to seek out a local estate planning and probate attorney to review the whole situation and determine what needs to be done next.

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