Minneapolis, MN asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Arizona

Q: Deed has both deceased parents name. Mothers will gives house as living estate to two children. Which proceeds?

Father passed in 2014. Mother passed in 2022.

1 Lawyer Answer

A: Assuming AZ house was owned JTWROS between parents, then when dad passed in 2014, the house effectively belonged solely to mother (even though nothing was recorded to reflect that). Then in 2022, the house became part of mother's probate estate. The Will giving the life estate probably governs here.

If for some reason, the home was not owned JTWROS (or CPWROS) between parents right before your father died, then half of the home would be part of father's probate estate and it gets complicated from there.

I highly recommend seeking the help of a competent attorney.

Anthony M. Avery and Andre L. Pennington agree with this answer

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