What to do if selling a jointly owned property and my ex-spouse died?
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What to do if selling a jointly owned property and my ex-spouse died?
My wife and I where divorced. In the divorce decree we where required to sell and divide all marital real estate properties and pay off marital debt and divide the rest. Before we where able to sell one of our properties she passed away. Can I file a quick claim deed along with the copy of her death certificate so I can continue with the sale of the property?
Asked on December 30, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Missouri
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If the title to the property was in your and your former wife's names as joint tenants with the right of survivorship when she passed away, you are entitled to the entirety of this particular property as a matter of law.
What needs to be done is to get a certified copy of her death certificate and attach it to an affidavit of surviving joint tenant signed and dated by you before a notary public. You then record this affidavit with the county recorder's office in the county where this parcel is located. By doing this, title to the parcel is now in your name. I suggest that you consult with a real estate attorney to assist you in this endeavor.
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