Dear Liza: I have been wondering if my husband dies, do I have to be on the deed to our house to have right of survivorship? We have been married 5 yrs., his name only is on the deed, he has no ex-wife or children. Yes, if you want to inherit that house without a probate proceeding, you do need to be on that deed in a way that provides you with right of survivorship–which means that upon your husband’s death, you are the sole owner by operation of law alone. Property owned in this way passes to the surviving owner without any probate requirement. Any two people can own property with right of survivorship as Joint Tenants. But married couples have special ways of owning property together. In Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin, they can own property as Community Property with Right of Survivorship–which combines right of survivorship with a special tax advantage available to surviving spouses who own community property. In many other states, married couples can own property in Tenancy by the Entirety, which combines right of survivorship with certain creditor protections. Without such a form of property ownership, you would inherit the property as your husband’s surviving heir (if he has no kids), but that will require a probate proceeding, which will cost you both time and money.
Dear Liza: I live in California. I have no children or family. If I leave my house to a friend will the property taxes go up under Prop 13? I just find information about kids and trusts, but not unrelated persons inheriting. Yes, if you leave your house to a friend, the property taxes will be reassessed. The way Proposition 13 works is that any “change of ownership” results in a reassessment of that property based on its current fair market value, unless an exception applies. There are exceptions to reassessment for a transfer of property from parents to children (or children to parents). There is an exception to reassessment for a transfer of property from an individual to a revocable trust for his or her benefit. But there is no exception for a transfer from you to your friend.
