Probate is often avoided when the first spouse passes because many couples chose to title their assets jointly. For example, a couple may have joint checking accounts or list both of their names on vehicle titles. In addition, many individuals chose to list their spouse as a primary beneficiary on their personal financial accounts, such as life insurance policies or IRA’s. Despite this common convention of co-owning property, there may be circumstances in which court involvement becomes necessary to transfer property from one spouse to another.
“Summary Administration” is the name of a probate proceeding in which the court transfers property from the deceased spouse to the living spouse. This proceeding is commonly used to remove a deceased spouse’s name from a house title so that the living spouse may sell the property. Without going through summary administration and removing their name, the spouse is unable to finalize the sale closing. Some of the couple’s assets may not have been jointly titled and would also require court involvement to transfer the property to the surviving spouse.
The summary administration proceeding is much shorter than the typical probate process. An attorney must first file a petition with the court and then provide notice to certain family members, such as the deceased spouse’s children. The petition identifies whether or not the deceased spouse had a Last Will and Testament or if they died intestate (which means they passed away without a Will). The court then holds a hearing at which interested persons may attend to object to the transfer of property. Because summary administration bypasses many of procedural steps in a typical probate, the living spouse is assuming the responsibility of addressing any debts owed by the deceased spouse.
To determine whether or not summary administration is appropriate in your case, please call the Elder Law attorneys at Ahrens DeAngeli Law Group for a free consultation.
