What is needed to sell property left to me by my deceased husband?
Full Question:
Answer:
When a person dies, their assets are distributed in the probate process. If a person dies with a will, an executor is named to handle the distribution of the estate. If the person dies without a will, the court appoints an administrator to distribute the decedent's assets according to the state's laws of intestacy. In cases where the decedent didn't own property valued at more than a certain amount, which varies by state, the estate may go through a small estate administration process, rather than the formal probate process. To dispose of the real property interests of the decedent, the executor or administrator executes an executor's deed or fiduciary deed. For example, if a person who is a joint tenant dies without a will, the administrator of the estate can execute a fiduciary deed transferring their interest to the remaining joint tenants, or other person entitled to receive the interest under intestacy laws of the state.
Joint tenancy is a form of ownership by two or more individuals together that differs from other types of co-ownership in that the surviving joint tenant immediately becomes the owner of the whole property upon the death of the other joint tenant. State law, which varies by state, controls the creation of a joint tenancy in real property. Joint tenancy property passes outside of probate; however, it may be severed so that the property becomes part of one person's estate and passes to that person's heirs. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property, and may enter onto, take possession of the whole, occupy, and use every portion of the common property at all times and in all circumstances. All joint tenants, and their spouses, must sign deeds and contracts to transfer or sell real estate.
In the case of a life tenant who holds a life estate, when the life tenant dies, their interest may pass to the remaindermen. Title may also return to the person giving or deeding the property or to his/her surviving children or descendants upon the death of the life tenant--this is called "reversion."
The answer will depend on whether the estate has been probated, and if not, the owners named on the deed, the value of the estate, and other factors. In Nevada, estates not worth more than $200,000 can qualify for a summary administration process and estates not worth more than $100,000 may qualify for a small estate administration. I suggest you contact a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved.
The following are NV statutes:
NRS 146.070 Estates not exceeding $100,000: Petition; notice; fees;
distribution of interest of minor.
1. If a person dies leaving an estate the gross value of which, after
deducting any encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000, and there is a
surviving spouse or minor child or minor children of the decedent, the
estate must not be administered upon, but the whole estate, after directing
such payments as may be deemed just, must be, by an order for that purpose,
assigned and set apart for the support of the surviving spouse or minor
child or minor children, or for the support of the minor child or minor
children, if there is no surviving spouse. Even if there is a surviving
spouse, the court may, after directing such payments, set aside the whole
of the estate to the minor child or minor children, if it is in their best
interests.
2. If there is no surviving spouse or minor child of the decedent and the
gross value of a decedent's estate, after deducting any encumbrances, does
not exceed $100,000, upon good cause shown, the court shall order that the
estate not be administered upon, but the whole estate be assigned and set
apart in the following order:
(a) To the payment of funeral expenses, expenses of last illness, money
owed to the Department of Health and Human Services as a result of payment
of benefits for Medicaid and creditors, if there are any; and
(b) Any balance remaining to the claimant or claimants entitled thereto
pursuant to a valid will of the decedent, and if there is no valid will,
pursuant to intestate succession.
3. Proceedings taken under this section, whether or not the decedent left
a valid will, must not begin until at least 30 days after the death of the
decedent and must be originated by a petition containing:
(a) A specific description of all the decedent's property.
(b) A list of all the liens and mortgages of record at the date of the
decedent's death.
(c) An estimate of the value of the property.
(d) A statement of the debts of the decedent so far as known to the
petitioner.
(e) The names and residences of the heirs and devisees of the decedent
and the age of any who is a minor and the relationship of the heirs and
devisees to the decedent, so far as known to the petitioner.
4. The clerk shall set the petition for hearing and the petitioner shall
give notice of the petition and hearing in the manner provided in NRS
155.010 to the decedent's heirs and devisees and to the Director of the
Department of Health and Human Services. If a complete copy of the petition
is not enclosed with the notice, the notice must include a statement
setting forth to whom the estate is being set aside.
5. No court or clerk's fees may be charged for the filing of any petition
in, or order of court thereon, or for any certified copy of the petition or
order in an estate not exceeding $2,500 in value.
6. If the court finds that the gross value of the estate, less
encumbrances, does not exceed the sum of $100,000, the court may direct
that the estate be distributed to the father or mother of a minor heir or
devisee, with or without the filing of any bond, or to a custodian under
chapter 167 of NRS, or may require that a general guardian be appointed and
that the estate be distributed to the guardian, with or without bond, as in
the discretion of the court is deemed to be in the best interests of the
minor. The court may direct the manner in which the money may be used for
the benefit of the minor.
NRS 145.040 Conditions for ordering summary administration.
If it is made to appear to the court that the gross value of the estate,
after deducting any encumbrances, does not exceed $200,000, the court may,
if deemed advisable considering the nature, character and obligations of
the estate, enter an order for a summary administration of the estate.
NRS 148.220 Notice of sale: Publication; posting; description of property.
1. Notice of the time and place of sale of real property must be
published in a newspaper published in the county in which the property, or
some portion of the property, is located, if there is one so published, and
if not, then in such paper as the court directs, for 2 weeks, being three
publications, 1 week apart, before the day of sale or, in the case of a
private sale, before the day on or after which the sale is to be made. For
good cause shown, the court may decrease the number of publications to one
and shorten the time for publication to a period not less than 8 days.
2. If the personal representative is the sole devisee or heir of the
estate, or if all devisees or heirs of the estate consent in writing, the
court may waive the requirement of publication.
3. If it appears from the inventory and appraisement that the value of
the property to be sold does not exceed $5,000, the personal representative
may waive the requirement of publication and, in lieu thereof, post a
notice of the time and place of sale in three of the most public places in
the county in which the property, or some portion of the property, is
located, for 2 weeks before the day of the sale or, in the case of a
private sale, before the day on or after which the sale is to be made.
4. The property proposed to be sold must be described with common
certainty in the notice.