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Husband died. How do we transfer title to wife?

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JoefromPhilly

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? PA

My sister's husband died unexpectedly. There was no will. They have a house that was purchased after they got married, but only he was on the title and on the mortgage. How does my sister get the house titled to her? The value of the home is about $140,000 and the mortgage is only $20,000. She should have access to cash to pay off the mortgage.

They also have a vehicle that needs to go into her name. It is paid off.

He also has a checking account that is only in his name. Can my sister have access to the cash that is in the account?

- Joe Kamenar
 


What is the name of your state? PA

My sister's husband died unexpectedly. There was no will. They have a house that was purchased after they got married, but only he was on the title and on the mortgage. How does my sister get the house titled to her? The value of the home is about $140,000 and the mortgage is only $20,000. She should have access to cash to pay off the mortgage.

They also have a vehicle that needs to go into her name. It is paid off.

He also has a checking account that is only in his name. Can my sister have access to the cash that is in the account?

- Joe Kamenar
An intestate probate proceeding needs to be started with the county probate court. Once this is done (and the formalities typically must be followed), the probate judge will issues the necessary documents to administer the estate. These documents will allow the appropriate transfer of property and accounts.
 

anteater

Senior Member
Do they have any children together? Does the husband have any other children? Does the husband have a surviving parent or parents?

Under intestacy, the PA probate code says:


§ 2102. Share of surviving spouse.

The intestate share of a decedent's surviving spouse is:

(1) If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate.

(2) If there is no surviving issue of the decedent but he is survived by a parent or parents, the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a decedent who died as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a surviving spouse shall be entitled to 100% of any compensation award paid pursuant to the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Public Law 107-42, 115 Stat. 230).

(3) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.

(4) If there are surviving issue of the decedent one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate estate.

(5) In case of partial intestacy any property received by the surviving spouse under the will shall satisfy pro tanto the $30,000 allowance under paragraphs (2) and (3).

§ 2103. Shares of others than surviving spouse.

The share of the estate, if any, to which the surviving spouse is not entitled, and the entire estate if there is no surviving spouse, shall pass in the following order:

(1) Issue. – To the issue of the decedent.

(2) Parents. - If no issue survives the decedent, then to the parents or parent of the decedent.

(3) Brothers, sisters, or their issue. - If no parent survives the decedent, then to the issue of each of the decedent's parents.

(4) Grandparents. - If no issue of either of the decedent's parents but at least one grandparent survives the decedent, then half to the paternal grandparents or grandparent, or if both are dead, to the children of each of them and the children of the deceased children of each of them, and half to the maternal grandparents or grandparent, or if both are dead to the children of each of them and the children of the deceased children of each of them. If both of the paternal grandparents or both of the maternal grandparents are dead leaving no child or grandchild to survive the decedent, the half which would have passed to them or to their children and grandchildren shall be added to the half passing to the grandparents or grandparent or to their children and grandchildren on the other side.

(5) Uncles, aunts and their children. and grandchildren. - If no grandparent survives the decedent, then to the uncles and aunts and the children and grandchildren of deceased uncles and aunts of the decedent as provided in section 2104(1) (relating to taking in different degrees).

(6) Commonwealth. - In default of all persons hereinbefore described, then to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
 

JoefromPhilly

Junior Member
They have a 15 year old daughter together and both of his parents are alive. he also has a brother and a sister. How would his wife (my sister) contact the county probate court? I believe they are in Allegheny County, near the Pittsburgh Airport. From what was presented by Anteater, what would she be entitled to? To my knowledge, there is $12,000 in the checking account.

- Joe
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
The court will not give you legal advice. You will either have to do everything yourself or hire a lawyer. Ask your state bar association if they give out pamphlets on pro se probate.

Here is how the succession goes:

http://www.finance.cch.com/pops/c50s10d190_PA.asp

Pennsylvania Intestate Succession Laws

If any part of a Pennsylvania decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:

1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:

* A surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate if the decedent is not survived by a child or parent.
* If there are no surviving children of the decedent, but there is a surviving parent or parents, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $30,000 plus one-half of the remaining intestate estate. There is an exception to this rule if a decedent died due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which case the surviving spouse gets 100 percent of any compensation award paid under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.
* If the decedent is survived by children all of whom are also the children of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $30,000 plus one-half of the remaining intestate estate.
* If the decedent is survived by children one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate estate.
* When there is a partial intestacy, any property received by the surviving spouse under the will counts towards satisfying the $30,000 allowance mentioned above.

2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows to:

1. Decedent's issue.
2. Decedent's parent or parents equally.
3. Decedent's brothers and sisters, or their issue.
4. If none of the above relatives are available, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or issue of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent or to the issue of the paternal grandparents if both are deceased. The other half passes to the maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or issue of grandparent on either the paternal or maternal side, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half portion would.
5. Decedent's uncles and aunts and their children and grandchildren.

3. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Intestate Succession Law Fun Facts

* Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.
* Relatives conceived before decedent's death, but born thereafter, inherit as if they had been born during decedent's lifetime.
* A spouse who willfully neglected or refused to support a deceased spouse or who willfully and maliciously deserted the deceased spouse for one year or upwards prior to the spouse's death cannot inherit any title or interest in the deceased spouses's intestate estate.
* Likewise, a parent who fails to support their minor or dependent child, who deserts them for a year, or is convicted of certain crimes against the child forfeits the right to their share of the child's intestate estate.
* Evildoers take note! Any person who participates either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact in the willful and unlawful killing of the decedent is prohibited from receiving any benefits from the killing, including a share in the intestate estate.
* Pennsylvania's intestate succession laws, as well as other related laws, can be found in Title 20 of Purdon's Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated.

Copyright 2002 - 2007, CCH Incorporated, a Wolters Kluwer business. All Rights Reserved.
 

anteater

Senior Member
They have a 15 year old daughter together and both of his parents are alive. he also has a brother and a sister. How would his wife (my sister) contact the county probate court? I believe they are in Allegheny County, near the Pittsburgh Airport. From what was presented by Anteater, what would she be entitled to? To my knowledge, there is $12,000 in the checking account.

- Joe
Since there is a daughter of both parents, spouse would get the first $30K plus one-half of the remainder. Parents and siblings would be out of the picture. You mention the checking account, but not the house. Since you say that the house was owned solely by the deceased husband, that is part of the intestate estate also.

The Register of Wills office is downtown in the City-County Building. Here is a link to the website:

http://www.alleghenycounty.us/regwills/

While seniorjudge is correct that you will not get legal advice, the court clerks are generally pretty helpful about the process.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
and the one thing nobody said anything about;

any debts owed by the estate are going to have to be paid before you figure out who gets anything. The debts have priority.
 

JoefromPhilly

Junior Member
OK, what happens when there is a house with about $120,000 in equity, a 401K worth $70,000, $12,000 in the bank and a truck worth about $10,000? How is this split up between the surviving spouse and the child? If the spouse (my sister) gets $30,000 plus half of the balance, what do they do to separate the child's portion? If you do the math based on this, the estate (after debts) is worth $212,000. How does the daughter get her $91,000?

- Joe
 

anteater

Senior Member
Joe -

Presumably the 401(k) has a named beneficiary - your sister most likely but not guaranteed. The 401(K) passes to the named beneficiary outside of probate. She can contact your brother-in-law's company to find out her options. She would probably also benefit by consulting a tax professional to find out the tax consequences of those options.

She also probably needs to retain an estate attorney. PA probate is not terribly complex, but with intestacy, a minor child involved, and probably PA inheritance tax, she probably needs help. She should interview several attorneys and choose one that she is comfortable with. Oh...and negotiate hard on the attorney compensation. PA estate attorneys have a tendency to quote 5% of estate value as if that % were statutory, irregardless of estate complexity.

This case should also be a reminder of the need to do some estate planning, even if it is only titling property, establishing joint accounts, creating POD or TOD account designations, etc.
 

JoefromPhilly

Junior Member
OK, but regarding the trust fund for the daughter, if most of the estate value is the equity in the home, does my sister have to sell the home or refi it to fund the trust? She does not have her daughter's share in any form of liquid assets. I believe that she may want to see if she can do a roll-over from her husband's 401(k) to one of hers. Or, will she need to use that money to cover her daughter's share of the estate.

Yeah, an attorney from one of the pre-paid legal plans said his fee was 7% of the estate, but, she gets a 25% discount because of the membership. That works out to 5.25%, which is right around the 5% that was quoted.

I believe she also must file some sort of paperwork for estate taxes? What would that form be? Also, does PA have any exemption amount?

- Joe
 

Ozark_Sophist

Senior Member
Umm... Joe is the OP.

**A: too funny****************************...
I know sometimes threads take on a life of their own but when we start to drone out the OP, there is something not quite right. :D

Joe - as tempting as doing all this alone is, you are better off talking to several lawyers to find the right one. The 5% is tough but you might end up saving more if the estate is handled properly in terms of taxes, etc--especially if you get a roll over of the 401k.
 

curb1

Senior Member
This does not seem that difficult to turn over 5%-7% to an attorney. Hire an attorney by the hour to answer the simple questions. Home ownership can be easily split (at little cost at the courthouse) among daughter and mother, both can continue living in home and everything continues. This is not that difficult. If the right attorney (as happened to us) gets hold of this, the costs could be great.
 

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