Selling a House Owned By Someone Deceased

Dealing with death in any situation is a stressful experience, and dealing with the deceased person’s real estate is no exception. When the seller is deceased there are certain steps and notions that should be taken into account. In this article you will find the most important things you need to keep in mind when selling a home owned by someone deceased.

The red tape of probate process

Probate is a process which mostly consist of taking care of the paperwork, asset distribution and leftover payments. For example, gathering assets of the deceased one, making necessary payments for debts and taxes as well as dividing the assets among family members and inheritors. The entire process is court-supervised, especially if the inheritors are in conflict. Some probate processes are more complex than other, but it varies from state to state.

Will trusts

If the deceased has already put the house in a living trust during life, the entire red-tape of probation can be avoided. However, if the decedent has put the property into a trust will before they passed away the process will be different. Under will trust an executor is named as the trustee and you are not authorized to sell the house. The trustee is the only one who sell the property without court approval.

Executor or trustee?

Trustee and executors are two terms that are commonly mixed up because they are in essence similar and they are important to distinguish when selling a property. Both executors and trustees are supposed to act as fiduciaries which means they are in charge of administering the property. The core difference, however, is that the executor does this for the purpose of taking care of the estate while the trustee administers the trust assets because they are assigned and because of the trust beneficiaries.

Executors are usually family members, while trustees are usually assigned when the children are under 18 or when beneficiaries are either mentally ill or unable to take care of the estate.

Dealing with family members

Perhaps the most difficult part is getting agreement from the family members. What happens to the property and when it will be for sale is entirely up to the new owner. In case the property was rented the tenants should be quickly notified about the situation and the property should be vacated and cleaned, often in a very short time.

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