i want to sell my dad's house , my question is that my dad passed away, and they put my name on the estate?

Question

i just wanna know if i sell it ,will i get the money for the sale, i am wanting to sell because they are too many memories of my dad ,and i and family need to sell, because its sad living in his home,

Answer 1

You have a complicated question.

If your dad had a will, and your dad owned the house only in his name, the house will be part of the probate estate and you will have to get the title changed through the probate process. Hint - hire an estate attorney to help you with this. It it is part of the probate estate, the cash will go to the estate and will be distributed in accordance with the will's provisions.

If the house was in a revocable trust, the process of retitling the house is much easier - because it is in a trust it avoids probate. It is was in a trust, the trust gets the cash, and the successor trustee distributes the cash to the beneficiaires.

If the house was titled in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, the house goes to the survivor on the title as a matter of law (again, not through the probate court). Whomever is the survivor on the title gets the house and if they choose to sell it, they get to keep the cash. This is because of the way it was titled (JTWROS trumps any will).

My late mother had a small estate, and I thought the estate attorney was worth his weight in gold. And that's coming from a CPA and certified financial planner (TM) - me. ;)

There a couple of good books - try Estate Planning for Dummies in your local library.

Sorry for you loss.

Answer 2

My condolences on your loss.

From what you are saying it sounds as if his estate has been wrapped up and you are the sole heir since title has passed to you. If this is correct you can sell the home any time you wish.

Depending upon how much you get from the sale there may be capital gains taxes due. When you inherit property, your basis is the value of the property on the date of the bequestor's (your Dad's) death. If you sell it for that amount, there will be no gain and no tax due. If you sell for more than that you may have capital gains tax to pay unless you lived in the home as your principal residence for at least 2 of the 5 years prior to the sale after your Dad passed away. Even if you don't qualify for the exclusion of the gain it will be taxed as a long-term capital gain, usually at 15%. If your tax bracket is 15% or lower the tax rate is only 5%.

Answer 3

if it was left to you and for what ever reason you decide to sale then you only get the balance remaining of what equity it has. If there are any taxe leans or balance left to be paid off will be takin out so you need to look at your mortgage coupon see what the balance is and see if there are any leans on the home then figure what you want to sale the home for.

Answer 4

It sounds like the house is in your name and the money from it is yours.
Usually if it is part of the estate a name transfer won't occur.
That is my understanding.

Answer 5

If you are the sole estae holder than the answer to all questions would be yes.

Answer 6

Only if it was in a trust or will..other wise you have to go through court...

Answer 7

sure, you can sell it, if your the eldest child you will get the inheritance money.