One of the questions I hear most often—weekly, if not daily—involves real estate owned by someone who has died. The beneficiary is often told that a new deed is needed to reflect the change in ownership. When I get this question, my usual response is a tongue-in-cheek question: ‘who is going to sign the new deed if the prior owner is deceased?’ The prior owner cannot, of course, come back to sign a deed transferring title. This misunderstanding is frequently caused by lenders and insurance companies that are unfamiliar with North Carolina law.
North Carolina law sets forth that title to the real estate automatically passes to the heirs or beneficiaries upon the death of the owner. The transfer could be pursuant to the terms of the deed, a probated will, or pursuant to the laws of North Carolina if the deceased does not have a will. With that said, the simple answer is that you do not normally need a new deed to convey title to the beneficiaries as title has already been conveyed.
However, nothing is ever simple. While North Carolina Statutes set forth how real estate passes upon the death of a person, sometimes there are additional issues that need to be addressed such as the “how” to probate a will, the consequences of not probating a will, or the ramifications of not having a will at all. Other issues may deal with paying outstanding bills for the decedent or interacting with lenders and banks. These issues certainly will have an impact on the simple answer and exemplify the need to sit down with an attorney who routinely handles these types of matters.
Here at Oertel Koonts Oertel, PLLC we have over 30 years of experience of assisting clients navigating the questions surrounding deeds and title concerns. If you find yourself here, give us a call to speak to a licensed and knowledgeable attorney.