Does a father’s Will have to go through probate if the house is in the names of both father and daughter?
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Does a father’s Will have to go through probate if the house is in the names of both father and daughter?
A house was left to 4 adult children; 1 child is listed on the deed already. The Will states to sell the house and split equally. Does the child with sole name on house have too?
Asked on October 4, 2011 under Estate Planning, Michigan
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. I can tell by the way that this question is phrased that the matter must be causing some angst amongst the children. The most important thing that needs to be determine here is how the house is held between the Father and the daughter. If it is held as joint tenants or tenants in common (and the deed says nothing more) then half of the house is assumed to be the Fathers and must be included in probate. If, however, the house is held as above and the deed also states "with rights of survivorship" then the house passed to the daughter automatically at the time of his death and would NOT be considered an asset for probate. Then that portion of the Will would really just be ignored as the asset technically did not exist in the estate at the time of his death. If half is to be included in his estate then the daughter also receives a fourth of the half (or an eighth) on top or her half already. Good luck.
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