Who gets the house if one of the coowner dies?

Antwan
A friend of mine owns a house with an older "sugar-daddy" type of man. Both names are on the house as well as the loan. If this older man passess away (he's in his 80's), what happens to the house? Does she get to keep it? Is it considered part of his Estate (Due to him co-signing on the loan for her to get it?) Or would she have to refinance in her own name only? Sorry so many questions...Would love to know!

Delinda
great questions for an attorney in your statethe will may have a great bearing on the answer - if he leaves it all to her, or gives it to pampered pets

Nickie
tell your friend to get herself a good lawyer.

China
it depends on how they hold title. if they are tenants in common then he can will its half of the house to her or to anyone he desires. if they hold title in joint tenancy then she has the right of survivor ship. which means that she will automatically get the other half along with the mortgage. she should consult with a lawyer.

Billy
In many states there is no more common law marriages. I would call a lawyer in your specific state. Each state has a different law when it comes to probate and real estate law.

Gregory
There are different ways for two unrelated parties to be on title. The most common would be tenants in common. This means that if one person was to die their 'portion' or 'share' is transferred to the estate and then to the heirs. The people are co-owners and they can actually sell their interest independent of the other party. Not easy to find a buyer but legally no reason why what ever the person owns can not be sold.The lady will not be able to get a new mortgage unless she has the signature of the partner as lender do not put mortgages on part of a house. They do not want to be involved with co-owners who are not also on the mortgage.It is time for the lady to get a lawyer and check the details. There could be other things she assumed that are incorrect.

Caterina
It depends on how the property was registered. If both names are on the title, there will be a sentence that describes the relationship between the two owners and the terminology is:1. Joint Tenancy- each owner owns an undivided interest in the whole property. This features the right of survivorship.. In this type of ownership, when one person dies, the other will get the entire tenancy. Therefore neither of them can "leave" their portions to anyone.2.Tenancy in Common- the parties possess portions of the property. The arrangement of this relationship will also be spelled out in the title of the property. There are shares in this type that can be given or transferred into the dead tenant's estate.If the right of survivorship is not spelled out, and this is a common mistake, half of the property can be claimed by relatives of the dead person, and this creates a lot of problems for 2nd and third marriages.However, the courts will be fair, and as long as the lady in this case can prove that she was the sole source of payments for the mortgage, and actually take measures NOW to redo the language of the property title while he is still alive, then there will be no question about whether or not his relatives can get her house when he dies.

Merissa
This would depends on how they took title to the property. If the title was taken as joint tenants then she will get the property as hers. If it was taken as tenants in common then his half is up for grabs by any and all of his known relatives and greedy friends that come out of the wood works.So she will have to get a copy of the deed to determine if she owns half or all of if anyone else can lay claim to the property.Then there is the fact that he might have had a will that gave his half to someone else. At this point their might be a reason for probate.The deed and how the property was taken is the key here. You might or might not need an attorney, they just confuse things.She does not have to refinace or get another loan as long as the payments are kept current.I hope this is of some use to you, good luck."FIGHT ON"

Eugenia
Usually, the surviving person would get the property, since they are probably already considered common law husband & wife. But you should probably find out, if you can, what his last will & testament says.

Demetra
They might be considered common law married and then it would go to her. But if they are not, his half of the house would probably go to his estate. If the other people to inherit disagree with you that you should get the house, get an attorney. The "sugar daddy" type of man could make this easy by putting in his will that the house goes to her.

Bee
typically, the senario is that the friend would co-own the house with the beneficiaries of the estate.Here are situations where it could have been set up with "right of surivorship" where the last person alive gets the entire asset, but that is determine at the initial purchase.Regardless of how much of the house she owns or co-owns, since her name is on the mortgage, she is responsible for payment on the house.If she wants the entire house, she should refinance the house and buy out the estate's interest in it. If she wants to sell the house, she should have the estate (or the beneficiary that wants it) to qualify for their own mortgage and buy her out.Her 3rd option would be to "rent" the house from the estate by making the mortgage payment and setting up some sort of contract with the estate on how to assign the equity in the house as she's paying on it.a quick consultation with an attorney would be a good idea for her to protect her interests and develop a strategy that protects her rights since she's still responsible for the mortgage.

Alfreda
This depends on how the property is held. Some properties are held so that the co-owner becomes the sole owner. However other types of vesting allow the ownership interest to be transferred as part of the estate.You would need to look at the specific vesting paperwork.