To settle an estate, the executor or trustee must first identify the decedent’s property. Everything that the decedent owned, including real estate, insurance, personal property, vehicles, securities, and bank accounts, are included in the estate. Once you take inventory of all that the decedent has left behind you, you need to make sense of the inventory to decide what will be done. You’ll need to determine if it is real property or personal property and then decide if the decedent held the title to the property in their name or jointly with someone else. See: If the property is owned in joint tenancy.

If the decedent had real property, that island and things permanently affixed to lands such as houses, trees, and any growing crops, as well as underground utility installations, leasehold, and mobile homes, will be considered under probate if there is no will.

Can transfer Real property to new owners following laws and procedures set forth by the state of California. If there is property owned outside of California, must follow the rules and regulations for that specific state.

Several deeds come into play when discussing real property:

• Grant deed, the most common, where the grantor or seller conveys the property, and the grantee buyer receive it.
• Quitclaim deed, used for the grantor, makes no warranties about the title.
• Joint tenancy grant deed, where two or more people may own a property
• Trust deed, commonly used when real property is purchased, and the buyer borrows part of the purchase price from a third party such as a bank or credit union.

The property that is not considered real estate or “Real Property” is considered personal property and divided into two distinct categories, tangible and intangible.

Tangible personal property includes items that you can touch with intangible abstract. It could be the right to be paid money or to legal exercise by some power represented by paper or documents. Anything else that can actually be touched, such as books, vehicles, furniture or equipment, and even actual cash, as in coins or dollar bills, is considered tangible personal property.

To determine the course of action with the real property, one must decide how the decedent’s property was owned. It may be on separately or concurrently with other people. Separate property ownership means that ownership was by one person alone. They may dispose of their separate property but will anyone they choose, and if that person dies without a will, the second property goes to his or her heirs under state laws. (It is important to note that a married person can also own separate property. All property acquired before marriage and property received by an individual by gift or inheritance, whether before, during, or after her marriage, remain separate property.)

Concurrent ownership means ownership by two or more people at the same time. Concurrent ownership normally is either tenancy in common, joint tenancy, community property, life tenancy, or community property with the right of survivorship.

The executor must determine whether the property is the community or separate. Verify ownership documents, title, accounts, and pink slips. Ask the property that was acquired during the marriage partnership. Does the property consist of earnings? Was the property acquired through a gift given to one person or as a married couple? Was the property acquired during the marriage as an inheritance? Was the property acquired during a personal injury action? The spouse agree in writing or orally to put the property into community form or separate? Was separate property mixed with community property? Is the property a mix of community property and separate property? These are all questions to ask to determine whether the property is community property or separate property, which is vital to the probate proceedings’ continuation. [Nolo]

In closing, anything with the decedent owned either separately or together with any other person is considered personal or real property. It must be dispersed according to either probate for the will. If you have questions about this type of real property, please contact my office today. If you need a real estate attorney or a probate real estate agent for California, feel free to contact me at any time.