To put an inherited house in your name, you first need to figure out how the deceased owner held title, then work through whatever legal process that form of ownership requires — usually probate — and finally record a new deed at the county recorder’s office in the county where the house sits. The route changes dramatically depending on whether the property was in a trust, held jointly, covered by a transfer-on-death deed, or sitting in the deceased’s name alone. Everything else follows from that one fact.
Start by Finding the Existing Deed
Before you call a lawyer or a court, pull the current deed. It tells you how ownership was structured, and that detail controls your next move. If you don’t have a copy, the county recorder’s office or the local tax assessor’s website can usually get you one.
What you find on the deed will fall into one of a few categories:
- Sole ownership, with only the deceased named. This almost always requires probate.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. The surviving owner automatically takes the deceased’s share, no probate needed.
- Community property with right of survivorship, which works like joint tenancy but is limited to spouses in community property states.
- A living trust, where the property was transferred into a revocable trust during the owner’s lifetime. The successor trustee handles the transfer under the trust document with no court involvement.
- A transfer-on-death deed, signed by the owner naming a beneficiary who receives the property at death. Roughly 29 states plus the District of Columbia recognize these, and they bypass probate.
If the deed shows sole ownership and nothing else was in place, you’re headed to probate court. If the house was in a trust, you work with the successor trustee. If it was held in joint tenancy, you’re already on the deed and the process is mostly paperwork.
Going Through Probate
Probate is the court-supervised process that validates the will, appoints someone to run the estate, pays off debts, and authorizes transfer of assets to heirs. For a house, probate creates the legal chain of authority that lets the property move out of the deceased’s name and into yours.
The executor named in the will (or an administrator the court appoints if there’s no will) files a petition with the local probate court, along with the original will and a certified death certificate. The court reviews the will, formally appoints the executor, and issues a document granting legal authority to act for the estate. With a will, that document is called Letters Testamentary. Without one, the court issues Letters of Administration, which does the same job for an estate passing under the state’s default inheritance rules.
Before any house transfer happens, the estate’s debts have to be dealt with. The executor publishes a notice to creditors, and creditors then have a limited window to file claims. That window varies by state but commonly runs a few months from the published notice. Only after the creditor period closes and valid debts are paid can the executor transfer real property to the heirs.
Small Estate Shortcuts
Many states offer streamlined probate procedures or small estate affidavits that let you skip the full process when the estate’s value falls below a set threshold. The rules vary widely. Some states cap it at $50,000 or less in personal property but exclude real estate from the small estate track entirely, which means you’ll still need regular probate for the house. Other states do allow simplified real property transfers for lower-value estates. Check your local probate court’s rules before assuming you qualify.
Some states also accept an affidavit of heirship — a sworn statement, usually signed by two people who knew the deceased and the family, identifying the rightful heirs. It gets notarized and recorded with the county. It works best when there’s no will, no disputes, and no complex debts. Not every state accepts affidavits of heirship for real property, and title companies may not insure a property transferred this way, so talk to a local attorney before relying on one.
Documents You’ll Need to Pull Together
Whatever route you’re on, assemble these:
- A certified death certificate. Order several copies. Mortgage companies, insurers, and financial institutions all want originals, and you can get them from the vital records office in the state where the death occurred.
- The original will, if one exists. It goes to the probate court. Keep copies for yourself.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, issued by the probate court once the executor or administrator is appointed. This proves you have authority to act for the estate.
- The existing deed, which contains the legal description of the property you’ll need to prepare the new one.
- A new deed transferring the property from the estate to you. Depending on your state, it may be called an executor’s deed, a personal representative’s deed, or a deed of distribution.
If the house was in a living trust, swap in the trust document, a certificate of trust (or the pages showing successor trustee authority), and the death certificate. The successor trustee prepares and records a new deed transferring the property from the trust to the beneficiary.
For joint tenancy properties, you typically just need to record the death certificate along with an affidavit of survivorship in the county where the property is located. Your name is already on the deed.
Preparing and Recording the New Deed
The new deed is the piece of paper that actually puts the house in your name. It must include the full legal name of the person receiving the property, the name of the estate or executor transferring it, and the exact legal description copied from the existing deed. Getting that legal description wrong can create serious title problems years later, so copy it verbatim or have an attorney review it.
Once prepared and signed, the deed has to be notarized. Then you take it to the county recorder’s office, register of deeds, or county clerk’s office in the county where the property sits. The office stamps it with a recording date and assigns a book and page number, making the transfer part of the official public record. You get a copy of the recorded deed back as proof of ownership.
Recording fees vary by county, typically running between $30 and $100 for a standard deed. Some counties also impose transfer taxes, though many states exempt inherited property from them. Notary fees for a single signature acknowledgment are modest, often under $10. Call your county recorder’s office in advance to confirm the exact fees and any formatting requirements.
If There’s a Mortgage
Inheriting a house with a mortgage doesn’t mean you have to pay it off immediately or qualify for a new loan. The Garn-St. Germain Act prohibits lenders from enforcing a due-on-sale clause when property transfers to a relative because of the borrower’s death.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions The lender cannot demand the full balance just because the original borrower died and you inherited the property.
You do have to keep making the monthly payments. The loan terms stay the same, including the interest rate and balance. To get account access and manage the loan, you need to be recognized as a “successor in interest” by the mortgage servicer. Federal regulations require servicers to have policies for communicating with potential successors in interest once notified of a transfer.2eCFR. Subpart C – Mortgage Servicing Contact the servicer in writing to start that process. They’ll tell you what they need, which usually includes a death certificate, proof of identity, and evidence of your ownership interest such as a will, letters testamentary, or the recorded deed. Once confirmed, you’re entitled to the same account information and loss mitigation options the original borrower had.
Reverse Mortgages Move Faster
A reverse mortgage changes the timeline sharply. A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage becomes due and payable when the last surviving borrower dies.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When Do I Have to Pay Back a Reverse Mortgage Loan? Heirs typically receive a due and payable notice and then have 30 days to decide whether to purchase the home, sell it, or turn it over to the lender. Extensions of up to six months may be available to allow time for a sale or financing.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With a Reverse Mortgage Loan, Can My Heirs Keep or Sell My Home After I Die?
With a federally insured HECM, the balance owed can never exceed the home’s fair market value, so if the home is worth less than the loan balance, heirs aren’t on the hook for the difference. But if you want to keep the house, you’ll need to pay off the full loan balance or 95% of the appraised value, whichever is less. The 30-day clock starts whether or not probate is finished.
Debts That Can Take the House Before You Get It
The executor has to pay valid debts from estate assets before distributing anything. If the estate doesn’t have enough cash, the executor may need to sell real estate, including the house you expected to inherit. Creditors get a chance to file claims during the probate creditor window, and those claims come first.
Medicaid estate recovery deserves separate attention. Federal law requires every state to seek reimbursement from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients who were 55 or older when they received benefits, at minimum for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug costs.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries Some states go further and recover for all Medicaid-covered services. If the deceased received long-term care through Medicaid, the state can file a claim against the estate for the full cost of that care, which can easily reach six figures.
There are protections. The state cannot pursue recovery while a surviving spouse is alive, or while a child under 21 (or a child who is blind or disabled) survives.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries Additional exemptions may apply if a sibling with an equity interest in the home lived there for at least a year before the deceased entered a care facility, or if an adult child caregiver lived in the home for at least two years before admission. Outside those exemptions, a Medicaid recovery claim can force the sale of the inherited house. If the deceased received Medicaid benefits, flag this early.
Protect the House While the Paperwork Works Through
Don’t wait for the deed transfer to protect the property. From the moment the owner dies, the house is exposed. If it sits vacant, most homeowners insurance policies reduce or exclude coverage for vandalism, water damage, and theft after just 30 to 60 days of vacancy. The executor or a family member should contact the deceased’s insurer within 30 days of the death, provide a death certificate, and ask what’s needed to keep coverage in force during estate administration.
If a spouse was named on the existing policy, the insurer will typically continue coverage under the surviving spouse’s name. Otherwise, the estate’s executor becomes responsible for maintaining insurance. The insurer may require a vacant property policy if no one is living there, which costs more than standard coverage but is far cheaper than absorbing an uninsured loss.
Handle the basics too: keep utilities paid to prevent frozen pipes or similar damage, maintain the yard to avoid code violations, change the locks if the key situation is uncertain, and keep property taxes current. Delinquent property taxes can turn into liens that complicate or block the title transfer. Some jurisdictions also reassess property taxes on a change in ownership, which can mean a higher tax bill going forward.
Tax Basics Once the House Is Yours
The single most useful tax rule for inherited real estate is the stepped-up basis. Your tax basis in the property resets to its fair market value on the date the owner died, not what they originally paid.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If your parent bought the house in 1985 for $80,000 and it was worth $400,000 when they died, your basis is $400,000. Sell soon afterward for $405,000 and your taxable gain is $5,000, not $325,000. The IRS applies this fair market value basis whether or not the executor files a federal estate tax return.7Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances A date-of-death appraisal costs a few hundred dollars and locks in a basis you can prove years later.
If you eventually sell, you’ll report the transaction on Form 8949 using “INHERITED” as the acquisition date. However briefly you held the property, the IRS treats the gain or loss as long-term.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949 Adjust your basis for any capital improvements and for any depreciation you claimed if you rented the property out.
If you move in and make the inherited house your primary residence, you may eventually qualify for the home sale exclusion of up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) once you’ve owned and used it as your main residence for at least two of the five years before sale.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home
Most heirs won’t owe federal estate tax. The 2026 basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual.10Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower thresholds, so check your state separately.
What It Costs
Probate court filing fees vary by state and can range from under $100 to several hundred dollars, sometimes scaling with the size of the estate. Attorney fees for probate work are usually a flat fee or hourly rate, though a few states set fees as a percentage of estate value. Deed recording fees commonly fall in the $30 to $100 range. Notary fees are minimal. Factor in a date-of-death appraisal (typically $300 to $600), certified death certificates (usually $10 to $30 each, several copies), and any title search fees. If an attorney prepares the deed and handles the recording, expect an additional flat fee.
A simple probate transfer of a house with no complications runs a few thousand dollars in most states. Contested estates, properties with title defects, or situations involving Medicaid recovery claims can push costs much higher. If anything about your situation looks complicated — multiple heirs who don’t agree, unclear title, significant debts, or Medicaid long-term care benefits — talk to a probate attorney in your state before you start filing anything.