Changing Title to Real Estate After a Spouse Dies
Transferring Real Estate Title After DeathWhen you own real property jointly with your spouse, you have what is called a "right of survivorship." This means that title to the property automatically transfers to the surviving spouse upon the death of the first spouse.
This seems simple enough, but many people have questions about whether you have to actually do anything to document the change in ownership. The short answer is yes, but it is only really necessary when you go to sell or transfer the property to someone else, or try to refinance the property. This is because a buyer or a lender is going to want to see clear title in your name before entering into a transaction. It is, however, very simple. You just need to record the death certificate at the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located, along with an affidavit stating that you and the decedent were still married at the time of death (this is called an "affidavit of no divorce"). Registry staff can help make sure you file this correctly, so that it will appear on future title searches of your deed. If you owned property jointly with someone other than a spouse, the same process will apply (except for the affidavit of no divorce) if you held the property as joint tenants. If you instead held it as tenants in common, you will have to go through the probate process to transfer title. Learn more here about the Probate Court process in Massachusetts. |
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Meet Our Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna wrote a book on estate planning: The Road to Peace of Mind: What You Need to Know About Estate Planning. Jenna has helped many individuals and families with planning to protect their legacies and loved ones, and planning for the future and succession of their businesses.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and earned her LLM in estate planning from Western New England Scool of Law in 2016. She has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped many clients with planning for their legacies and their future, and navigating the probate process in Massachusetts after the death of a loved one.
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Our experienced estate planning and probate team can help you navigate the process of handling a loved one's estate. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call with a member of our team and learn how to get started, or simply give us a call at (781) 784-2322.
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Jenna Ordway
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