{"id":6837,"date":"2025-09-18T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6837"},"modified":"2025-09-18T09:38:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:38:19","slug":"only-my-name-is-on-the-deed-will-my-spouse-inherit-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/only-my-name-is-on-the-deed-will-my-spouse-inherit-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Only My Name Is on the Deed. Will My Spouse Inherit It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you share a home, you might figure your marriage means the home deed will belong to your spouse when you pass away. And if you own the home jointly with survivorship rights, then yes, your home will go to the surviving spouse whenever one of you passes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not all spouses vest their homeownership<\/a> jointly on their deeds. Marriage does not automatically entitle people to their partners\u2019 assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at what could happen if your deed is vested in your name alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Role of Probate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your name is the only one on the deed to your home, your surviving spouse does not automatically receive your ownership interest when you pass away. Even if you lived together for many years. Even if your spouse faithfully shared the work and costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many states, a home that\u2019s titled as sole property goes into the probate court, which will oversee the payoffs of debts, then distribute the late deed holder\u2019s assets to the heirs. If the late homeowner wrote a will, and named an executor, that person will distribute assets under the court\u2019s supervision. (The executor can be the surviving spouse, or someone else.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the home is willed to the surviving spouse, then the executor will re-deed the home according to that instruction. This is assuming the executor doesn\u2019t need to liquidate the home\u2019s value to pay off an estate\u2019s debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a deceased homeowner who never created a valid will is known to the court system as intestate<\/em><\/a>. In such cases the deed goes through the state\u2019s intestacy<\/em> process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Happens If You Leave No Will?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s imagine you pass away without a will in the state of New York. First off, under the New York intestacy law<\/a>, your spouse would get the first $50,000. Then, the value of the rest of your estate would be divided among your spouse and children, if you have any. Otherwise, your assets will all go to your surviving spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a New York homeowner dies intestate, title to the deceased\u2019s real estate automatically vests in the heirs. No administrative transfer is necessary. That said, heirs can record new deeds as public proof of ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there are children in addition to a surviving spouse, all become tenants in common<\/em><\/a> as co-owners of the real estate. That means each new co-owner owns a share that they can independently pass to their own heirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this mean the spouse and the children all own the home together for the duration? Usually not. New York\u2019s partition statute enables tenants in common to open a partition action<\/em><\/a> in New York\u2019s Supreme Court and force the sale of the real estate, and then divide the proceeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other states have similar systems. With Pennsylvania\u2019s intestacy laws, the succession of ownership for your home and other assets goes this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n