Bought Your Home With Your Spouse Before 1980?

If you bought your home with your spouse before 1980 be sure you can sell or transfer your house with no red tape before your spouse passes.

Time to check your grant deeds if you live in Arizona. I am having to prepare a lot of probate cases related to real estate because of misunderstandings regarding the law prior to 1980’s and/or incorrectly prepared deeds. Please check your deeds to be sure that they state what you think they state.

Many married couples believe that if the deeds state “husband and wife,” which were prepared prior to the late 1970’s, then they do not have to worry regarding title because this a community property state. THAT IS INCORRECT. The deeds have to state either joint tenancy with right of survivorship or community property with right of survivorship; otherwise, if one spouse passes, then the other spouse does not have clear title to the property and, therefore, cannot sell it or transfer it to anyone else. This also affects people who are not married and held title as joint tenants, but did not include the phrase “with right of survivorship” on the deed. If they intended to have the other person inherit the property once they passed, it must have “with right of survivorship” on the deed.

Please call me if you have questions regarding your deed(s), wish me to prepare a deed to add “with right of survivorship” and/or prepare the necessary probate papers to correct the mistake.