How To Change A Deed When You Inherit Property
I Inherited A House, How Do I Put My Name On It?
Inheriting a property such as a house comes as an embrace in today’s economy. With rising real estate prices, inheriting is a comfort for those looking to buy a house.
The entire process of inheritance should ideally be simple. However, it requires proper legal execution of the terms of inheritance.
While it can be quite an advantage to inherit a house, you should take a step back and read the fine legal print to better understand what it actually means. Among other things, you will also need to worry about the deed.
This article will guide you through the process of how to change a deed when you inherit a property.
What Does It Mean To Inherit A House?
Inheritance means to receive something after a person’s death. If you inherited a house, it means a loved one left it to you.
However, simply inheriting a property does not give you ownership. You will be required to follow certain steps to take legal ownership of your inherited house.
What Is A Deed Of A House?
A deed to a house or property is a formal document that allows the transfer of ownership of the property. This legal document is what allows you to become the rightful and legal owner of the property.
It contains the details of the property in question and designates the grantor, also known as the seller, and the grantee, also known as the buyer.
The grantor is typically required to sign the legal document to complete the official process of the transfer of ownership.
In simple terms, think of it as the key to the house or property. This document will make you the rightful owner of the house once you sign it. Simply inheriting a house is not enough. Even if a relative gifts you a property, you don’t own it unless you change the deed of the estate.
If you do not change the deed during the initial phase, you are bound to face issues later on. Without a change in the deed, you are not the legal owner. Therefore, it is important that you change the deed of the house to gain ownership.
Once you gain legal ownership of the property, you open the doors for a multitude of rights related to the property. You can take numerous actions as the owner. For instance, if you wish to sell the house, you are well within your legal rights to do so. You can manage the mortgage, and even get government sanctioned funds if applicable. So, how do you change a Deed when you inherit a property?
How Do You Change A Deed When You Inherit A Property?
Ideally, the process should be straightforward. However, it is not the case for everyone. Some walk the straight path to a change in ownership, while others find themselves in choppy waters.
In some instances, if the property was jointly owned, it may cause issues when transferring the deed. In such cases, if the part-owner of the deed is alive, then the transfer cannot happen without their consent.
Other unchartered territories for the beneficiary include a probated Will. This may require court hearings to settle the validity of the will. Additionally, there may be other issues with the deed that will need to be resolved before the transfer of ownership takes place.
Therefore, it is vital that you understand the entire process of how to change a deed when you inherit a property. It is of the utmost importance that you see the process through when you inherit a property.
I Inherited A House, How Do I Put My Name On It?
Congratulations! You just inherited a house, how do you put your name on it?
Your first step should be changing the deed of the property. Once the transfer of ownership gets a legal stamp, you will be legally entitled to do as you wish with the property in question.
This section will guide you through the entire process of how to change a name on deed after death. Once you are aware of what the process entails, you can arrange the required documents and speed up the process.
Apply For The Probate Will
To get the process started, you are first required to arrange and collect any necessary paperwork. Among the required documents, the top most important document is the original Will that must go through probate. If your loved one filed their Will with the probate court, you may request a certified copy through them.
Having the Will is necessary to expedite the transfer of the property to your name. In most cases in Michigan, you must open probate before you can inherit the house.
If you inherited the property through a Will, then your loved one would have specified this in the Will. It will contain a statement and any necessary details about the property that is to be passed to the beneficiary upon their death.
How Do You Change A Name On A Deed After Death And How Do You Verify The Nature Of Ownership?
Before the deed can be changed, you have to figure out how the property in question is titled. For example, the house may be owned jointly or owned by one person.
This will be denoted on the deed. If the inherited property was owned by a single party, then you are not likely to face any further hurdles moving forward.
However, in some cases of jointly owned property, you may be faced with some complications. If the deed indicates two people as owners of the property, then the surviving party has a say in whether you can inherit property depending on how the deed is titled.
The court will step in with a decision if there is any disagreement. The transfer of ownership will proceed only with the explicit consent of the living owner on the deed.
In most straightforward cases of inheritance, the owners set up a properly drafted and recorded Ladybird Deed. This deed requires no probate and automatically transfers the property interest to the beneficiary named in it. This deed, in addition to the death certificate, will serve as the property deed.
How To Obtain The Death Certificate?
The transfer of any deed for a property is obtainable only if you have a certified copy of the death certificate of the previous owner. This proof is required in any case. Your state’s Register of Deeds office will require you to file the original death certificate and a new deed.
If the Ladybird Deed was drafted, signed, and properly recorded, then with the certified death certificate, the deed will be automatically transferred to you once it is filed.
How To Transfer Inherited Property Into My Name?
Once you have gathered all the required documents and pieces of the information, you are ready to draft a new deed with your name as the property owner.
It is recommended that you hire an attorney to assist you.
The draft of the new deed should include your full legal name, your current address, and the deceased’s full legal name. In addition, the deed will include a legal description of the inherited property with the address and the parcel number.
If you’re not the sole owner of the house, then the new deed will also include the details of any of the co-owners.
Finalize The Deed
You are now just a few steps away from finalizing your deed. Following the completion of the draft of the new deed, you are now required to sign it to make it official. However, this sign has to take place in front of a notary.
Notarize The Deed
Get the notary on your scheduling books to notarize the deed. A notary has the legal authority to witness signatures to confirm their legal validity. They will confirm the legality of your identity.
The deed can only be signed in front of a notary. Once they confirm your identity and the legitimacy of your document and signatures, they will notarize it with a seal.
Most legal documents require a notary for their proper execution. It helps eliminate any impostors and confirms the document meets all the necessary requirements.
Make The Deed Official
With the notarized deed in hand, it is time to finalize it. If you have followed through with all the steps, you are ready to file the deed and make it official.
To get a proper insight into this final step, it is best if you check with the county Register of Deeds office regarding instructions on how to file the deed.
In addition to the drafted deed, you may have to submit other related documents, including the certified copy of the death certificate. This process will require a filing fee.
You may submit the final required documents in person directly to the office, or you can mail them according to your convenience.
Tax Implications
You inherited a house, great! Now, you are probably wondering about the tax implications relating to the inheritance.
Simply inheriting a property will not trigger any tax liabilities. However, your actions with the inherited property will cost you capital gains, property taxes, etc. For instance, if you decide to sell the property, you may have to pay capital gain taxes.
With inherited property, these taxes kick in when you sell a property at a higher cost than what was initially paid for it. If ordinary rules are applied to inherited properties, you would be left with a massive tax bill.
However, the rules mostly weigh in your favor. They vary depending on several factors. In most cases, you are protected, since the IRS takes into account the step-up tax basis for inherited property.
While you cannot completely run away from paying taxes on your inherited property, you would still owe considerably less as an inherited owner.
How Do You Transfer A Deed On An Inherited Property If You Want To Sell It?
As the legal owner, you can do whatever you want with your inherited house. If you wish to sell your inherited house, you may do so. The process is similar to that of selling off your property.
If your name is written on the deed, then you are the rightful and legal owner of the house. If the property is not contested and it has no liens against it, then you legally own it.
However, keep in mind that selling the house comes with tax implications. Read the fine print of tax legalities before you take the step towards selling it.
Upgrade Your Estate Plan
As you inherited a property thanks to the estate planning of your loved one, it is now time for you to update your estate plan. Make sure to include your inherited property within your estate plan.
This will ensure that in case of your death, you were the one in charge of managing and designating the property for your loved ones.
The Final Word On How To Change A Deed When You Inherit A Property
Inheriting property can be a good thing, but you may be wondering how to transfer inherited property into your name. You have to go through the proper legal steps to gain ownership. Anyone can gift a property to you in a Will, but it will not become legally yours until the deed of the property has your name on it.
Therefore, it is necessary to ensure your name gets on the deed after you have inherited a house. Luckily for you, the process is not very complicated. It simply requires you to collect all the requisite information and documents and then submit them to your local county office.
If you follow the steps mentioned in the article, you will soon become the happy, legal owner of the inherited house!
Do I Need A Probate Lawyer?
The probate process in Michigan can be complicated, long, and confusing.
At Rochester Law Center, our compassionate and dedicated Michigan Probate Lawyers are experienced in all matters of probate administration and serve every county in the state of Michigan.
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Our probate attorneys can help you quickly and easily navigate the process so that your loved one’s money and property can be distributed to their heirs in the manner in which they intended.
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