{"id":807,"date":"2020-01-14T11:35:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T16:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=807"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:20:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:20:32","slug":"if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg\" alt=\"Image of part of a house on a cliff near a fog covered body of water. Captioned: Real Estate Inheritance, A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate.\" class=\"wp-image-808\" width=\"512\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/life\/life_columnists\/paul_premack\/article\/Wills-are-not-self-enacting-14928167.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Five years ago in Texas,<\/a> John died, willing his house to a nephew, A.W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, A.W.\nwants to get ready to sell the house, and pay off some debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the\nrub. The will never went through probate, and a different relative of John&#8217;s\nhas been living in the home all this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who gets the\nhouse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A.W. was\nnamed as the next owner in&nbsp;the will, and never <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/refusing-to-accept-a-deed\/\">refused the\ndeed<\/a>. So,&nbsp;legally, A.W. owns it, right?&nbsp;Wrong. Procrastination is\nthe thief of assets, as A.W. learned the hard way. A will does not enact\nitself. It has to be probated according to a timeline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\nAre Named in the Deceased Homeowner&#8217;s&nbsp;Will. The Deed Is Now Yours.\nRight?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As A.W. can\nnow tell you, legal steps and deadlines apply to the executor who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/forms\/texas\/executor-deed\/\">transfers&nbsp;Texas\nproperty<\/a> after its owner dies. Beneficiaries can&#8217;t just sit on the will and\nclaim their property in their own time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In any\nstate, if&nbsp;you are named as the executor of a will (as A.W. was), with\ndirections&nbsp;to transfer an interest in the house to yourself or another person,&nbsp;you\nare responsible for getting the will into probate in a timely manner. Probate\nis vital.&nbsp;Granted,&nbsp;many states provide informal&nbsp;probate for\nsimple&nbsp;estates.&nbsp;But eligibility must be determined by the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;probate,\nthe court determines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If the will is legally valid.<\/li><li>If the will&#8217;s named executor may represent the estate of the deceased.<\/li><li>If the will is uncontested. <\/li><li>That notice has properly gone out to creditors, advising them of their own timeline to claim repayments from the estate.<\/li><li>That the estate has paid the decedent&#8217;s estate expenses, debts, and any applicable federal and state taxes.<\/li><li>That the assets are properly accounted for and distributed.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, only\nthrough a properly supervised&nbsp;probate process can the will effect\na&nbsp;transfer of the deed. By the conclusion of probate, a deed will\nbe&nbsp;publicly recorded in the county, giving notice to the world of\na&nbsp;home&#8217;s new&nbsp;ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s\nthe Deadline for Getting a Will Into Probate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Filing\ndeadlines vary&nbsp;widely from state to state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A&nbsp;will in Colorado must go into probate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denbar.org\/Public\/Public-Legal-Information\/Probate-in-Colorado\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">within 10 days<\/a> of its maker&#8217;s death. <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/codes.ohio.gov\/orc\/2107.10v1\" target=\"_blank\">Ohio<\/a>&nbsp;allows beneficiaries who know about&nbsp;a will to take up to a year to submit&nbsp;it to&nbsp;probate, but if they deliberately stall or hide&nbsp;a will, they lose the right to&nbsp;inherit through it. The assets they forfeit pass to the innocent&nbsp;heirs in accordance with&nbsp;state law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not\nsurprisingly, many&nbsp;states impose penalties for failing to present&nbsp;a\nwill to the court.&nbsp;For example, those&nbsp;in the state of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/codes.findlaw.com\/wa\/title-11-probate-and-trust-law\/wa-rev-code-11-20-010.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Washington<\/a>&nbsp;who\n\u201cwillfully&#8221; fail&nbsp;to file&nbsp;a&nbsp;will are&nbsp;liable to the\npeople they harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under state\nlaw, A.W., as the&nbsp;person holding John&#8217;s&nbsp;original will,&nbsp;ought to\nhave submitted it to the probate court in&nbsp;John&#8217;s home county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then,&nbsp;probate\u2014not\nJohn&#8217;s&nbsp;will, not&nbsp;a personal relationship\u2014could have authorized\nthe&nbsp;will to become effective, and transferred the house to A.W. with a\nclear title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\nIs Muniment of Title?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The transfer\nof John&#8217;s house is controlled by the laws of Texas. There, a will has to go\ninto&nbsp;probate within four years from the day its maker died. Once that\ndeadline&nbsp;passed without proper action, the probate court could no longer\nappoint A.W. as executor. At that point, the will could no longer be accepted\nas valid\u2014except through a legal process&nbsp;called <em>muniment of title.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For that exception to apply, A.W. would have had to meet three criteria <a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/ES\/htm\/ES.257.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">under state law<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A.W. had an adequate explanation for missing the deadline.<\/li><li>The will&#8217;s action was limited to transferring title to A.W.\u2014the person it named.<\/li><li>The heirs that would inherit the property under Texas default inheritance law allowed the recognition of the will. (All states have a list of family situations to establish inheritance priority if no valid will can be found.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By failing to act,&nbsp;A.W. allowed the home&#8217;s title to pass&nbsp;to another relative: John&#8217;s sibling, who lived in the home and who had priority over A.W. under the <a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/ES\/htm\/ES.201.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">default inheritance priority list<\/a> set forth by Texas&nbsp;law.&nbsp;Without timely probate, title&nbsp;passed to John&#8217;s sibling, the&nbsp;<em>heir-at-law.&nbsp;<\/em>John&#8217;s sibling clearly had no desire to&nbsp;give the house up to A.W. through muniment of title.&nbsp;The sibling&#8217;s claim to the house is official once&nbsp;an <em>affidavit of heirship<\/em>&nbsp;is recorded in the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/article-meme.jpg\" alt=\"Image (Meme) of a male person with long hair captioned: A Will Does Not Simply Enact Itself.\" class=\"wp-image-809\" width=\"326\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/article-meme.jpg 651w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/article-meme-300x176.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><figcaption>A Will Does Not Simply Enact Itself<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">As&nbsp;for\nA.W., it&#8217;s&nbsp;a case of you-snooze-you-lose.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Regardless\nof Prompt Action by the Will Beneficiary, Can a Home&#8217;s&nbsp;Occupant Try to\nClaim It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What if we\ncould turn back the clock, and urge A.W. to act quickly to preserve the\nright&nbsp;to receive John&#8217;s&nbsp;home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John&#8217;s\nsibling might have objected to the will,&nbsp;hoping&nbsp;to avoid being kicked\nout of the house. Assuming John&#8217;s will was correctly made under the state&#8217;s\nrequirements, A.W. should have had no trouble executing the will and receiving\nthe home as John intended. A&nbsp;probate court&#8217;s mission is to carry out the\nintentions of the deceased, following state law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply\noccupying the home does not make the sibling of the deceased a legal occupant,\nor convey any rights to the title. A.W. would have been entitled to\nreceive&nbsp;John&#8217;s house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A.W. would\nhave been prudent to involve a lawyer to assist with the difficulties inherent\nin such a situation, which could involve&nbsp;the occupant&#8217;s eviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if the\noccupant had&nbsp;been paying rent to John?&nbsp;A.W. would have had to respect\nthe terms of a valid lease for its&nbsp;full length of time. Alternatively, A.W.\ncould have offered to&nbsp;buy out the lease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Being\nNamed an Executor Is a Badge of Trust.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It also\ntakes mindfulness, prompt attention,&nbsp;a time commitment, and\nthe&nbsp;willingness to handle potential conflicts.\n\nIf\nyou find yourself in this situation and have questions on&nbsp;how to proceed,\nconsult&nbsp;a&nbsp;probate lawyer. As the estate covers attorney&#8217;s fees, your\ninvestment will be a wise one.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five years ago in Texas, John died, willing his house to a nephew, A.W. Today, A.W. wants to get ready to sell the house, and pay off some debt. Here\u2019s the rub. The will never went through probate, and a different relative of John&#8217;s has been living in the home all this time. Who gets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,11,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elder","category-probate","category-wills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Don&#039;t putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can&#039;t just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don&#039;t putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can&#039;t just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Deeds.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deedsrealestate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deeds.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RealEstateDeeds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RealEstateDeeds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deeds.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deeds.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8e0eeca72de74094ddaa30fc54159b6b\"},\"headline\":\"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1155,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Elder\",\"Probate\",\"Wills\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/\",\"name\":\"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Don't putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can't just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/putting-off-probate.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/putting-off-probate.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":566},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Deeds.com\",\"description\":\"Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Deeds.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/deeds-logo-bw.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/deeds-logo-bw.png\",\"width\":417,\"height\":208,\"caption\":\"Deeds.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/deedsrealestate\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RealEstateDeeds\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCWGNKXWKH9nluFfeIvG0OTQ\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.deeds.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8e0eeca72de74094ddaa30fc54159b6b\",\"name\":\"Deeds.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deeds.com\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com","description":"Don't putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can't just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com","og_description":"Don't putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can't just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/","og_site_name":"Deeds.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deedsrealestate\/","article_published_time":"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Deeds.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RealEstateDeeds","twitter_site":"@RealEstateDeeds","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deeds.com","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/"},"author":{"name":"Deeds.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0eeca72de74094ddaa30fc54159b6b"},"headline":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate","datePublished":"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/"},"wordCount":1155,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg","articleSection":["Elder","Probate","Wills"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/","name":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate - Deeds.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate-1024x537.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-14T16:35:55+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-26T03:20:32+00:00","description":"Don't putt off probate, you may lose your rights. Beneficiaries can't just sit on the will and claim their property in their own time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/putting-off-probate.jpg","width":1080,"height":566},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/if-you-inherit-a-house-act-a-cautionary-tale-about-putting-off-probate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If You Inherit a House, Act. A Cautionary Tale About Putting Off Probate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/","name":"Deeds.com","description":"Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#organization","name":"Deeds.com","url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/deeds-logo-bw.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/deeds-logo-bw.png","width":417,"height":208,"caption":"Deeds.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deedsrealestate\/","https:\/\/x.com\/RealEstateDeeds","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCWGNKXWKH9nluFfeIvG0OTQ"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0eeca72de74094ddaa30fc54159b6b","name":"Deeds.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceb3eac3a742cc3487be04bdf8e23cf5e2804c1a8c7f64f206a3b18e850562b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deeds.com"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}