Can a surviving spouse sell the house after her death?

Upon her death, as a joint tenant, you would become the sole owner of the home and can move forward to sell the home. Your only issue is in dealing with the lender. Sometimes lenders get pretty careful when they deal with the spouse that is not on the mortgage.

Can a deceased spouse distribute property in a will?

In sum, a deceased spouse can use a will to distribute both separate property and his share of the community property. In common law property states, a spouse is not entitled to one-half of all community property, as is the case in a community property state. In general, the title of the property determines ownership of the property.

What to do if your husband dies and you have sole ownership of Your House?

Sole Ownership. If the deceased spouse has no will or leaves a will specifying that his interest in the house passes to his surviving spouse, an abbreviated procedure called a Spousal Property Petition transfers the deceased spouse’s interest to the survivor, offering a faster alternative to the probate process.

What happens if my wife does not sell the House?

The mortgage does not go away. The mortgage stays with the home until the loan is paid off. Your wife’s estate may be liable to the lender and if you don’t pay the monthly mortgage payments, the lender can foreclose on the home, sell it and use the money from the sale to payoff the loan.

Do you have to sell your house after your spouse dies?

Selling a house after a spouse dies is similar to if you had done it together, and you still use the same purchase agreements. The difference is that you will need to have the title put solely in your name before putting the home on the market. You definitely will not have to sell your house after your spouse’s death all alone.

What happens to your house when your wife dies?

In your situation, if you and your wife owned the home as joint tenants, when she died, you automatically became the owner of the home. The mortgage does not go away. The mortgage stays with the home until the loan is paid off.

Can a property be transferred to a surviving spouse?

The deed for the property can determine how to transfer the property to a surviving spouse. This process may be automatic, as in the case of property owned jointly with the right of survivorship. Or the process may be more complicated, requiring the use of the courts and the probate process.

Can a surviving spouse exclude the sale of a home from taxes?

Surviving spouses may be able to exclude a portion of home-sale profits if they meet certain criteria. Question: My husband died last year, and I’m selling our home. Do I still get to exclude $500,000 of home-sale profits from taxes, or am I limited to the $250,000 exclusion for singles?