What happens to real estate when the owner dies?

If a homeowner dies, her estate must go through probate, a court-supervised procedure for paying the debts and distributing the assets of a deceased person. The home might be sold to pay debts or it might pass to a beneficiary or an heir.

What happens to my mother’s estate if I have no parents?

If no parents are alive, then the estate passes in equal shares to you and your siblings. If your mother was single with children, then the estate would pass in equal shares to the children.

What happens to my mother’s assets when she dies?

Generally, the majority of her assets would pass to her surviving spouse. Children or grandchildren may inherit a smaller share. If her children are not the children of that spouse (i.e., step-children to the spouse), then half of her assets would transfer to her spouse and the other half would transfer in equal shares to her children.

How to get property in your name after your parent has died?

In most cases, the estate will have to go through the probate process before you can officially get the property in your own name. Check the Will . Whether or not you’d get property in your name upon the death of a parent depends on the will. If you were left the property, or if you co-owned the property with the deceased.

What happens to your parent’s property if you remarry?

In community property states, such as Texas, a surviving spouse may get the rights to property acquired while they were married. This means that if your parent remarries, and buys a house with his new spouse, his portion of the property rights may transfer to his spouse automatically, even if he intended to leave his share to you.

What happens to real estate after parents pass away?

Many families mistakenly believe inheriting property is as simple as listening to an official reading of their parents’ will. That may work in the movies, but in reality, real estate inherited via a will is usually subject to the long, complex probate process.

Can you sell your parents home while they are still alive?

The document names your parents as the trustees (allowing them to manage all assets while they are still living), and you as the beneficiary. If you inherit property where there’s a living trust in place, you can bypass probate, avoid some estate taxes, and it sets you up to sell the home immediately.

What happens to my mother’s estate when she dies?

If your mother had a spouse at the time of her death, then the distribution of her estate depends upon the ownership and titling of her assets. Generally, the majority of her assets would pass to her surviving spouse. Children or grandchildren may inherit a smaller share.