What happens to a house when someone dies?
The house passes based on how the title was held. A surviving joint owner with survivorship rights usually owns it right away. A house with a transfer-on-death deed goes to the named beneficiary in states that allow those deeds. A house in the person's name alone goes through the estate, under the will or state law. Any mortgage stays attached to the house.
Last checked . General information, not legal or financial advice. Rules vary by state.
How was the house owned?
Choose one to see what usually happens.
Quick facts
- A house held in joint tenancy, with a transfer-on-death deed or in a living trust usually passes without probate (California Courts, as of 2026).
- Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin are the community property states (IRS Publication 555, as of 2026).
- A lender can't demand the full mortgage balance just because the home passed to a relative after the borrower died (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3, as of 2026).
- Heirs who want to keep a house with a reverse mortgage must pay the lesser of the loan balance or 95% of the appraised value (CFPB, as of 2026).
Your next step
Who owns the house now?
Look at the deed, because the way the owners held title decides who gets the house. The table follows the California courts' self-help guide. Other states may name or treat these forms of title differently, so check the rules in the state where the house is.
How title was held and what usually happens
Joint tenancy with another owner
- Who gets the house
- The surviving owner
- Probate?
- Usually not
Community property with right of survivorship (spouses)
- Who gets the house
- The surviving spouse
- Probate?
- Usually not
Transfer-on-death deed
- Who gets the house
- The beneficiary named on the deed
- Probate?
- Usually not
In a living trust
- Who gets the house
- Whoever the trust names, through the trustee
- Probate?
- Usually not
In the person's name alone
- Who gets the house
- Heirs under the will or state law
- Probate?
- Usually yes, unless a small estate process applies
Do you need probate if everything is in joint names?
Often not. Property held in joint tenancy, or with a named beneficiary, passes outside probate. If even one thing was still in the person's name alone, that asset may need a probate case or a small estate procedure.
Married couples in community property states have extra options. Those states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
In California, a surviving spouse who is entitled to all the property can ask the court to confirm it with a spousal property petition. That is simpler than a full probate case.
Who can sell a house after the owner dies?
Only the person who now holds title, or someone with legal authority over the estate. If the house passes through the estate, the court usually has to appoint the executor or administrator first. ProbateUS explains the steps state by state.
What happens to the mortgage on an inherited house?
It stays with the house. Family members do not have to pay it from their own money unless they signed the loan. But the lender can still foreclose if payments stop.
Federal law stops a lender from demanding the full balance at once just because the home passed to a relative after the borrower died. Our page on what happens to a mortgage explains how heirs keep the existing loan.
A reverse mortgage is different. It usually has to be repaid when the last borrower dies. Heirs who want to keep the house must pay the lesser of the loan balance or 95% of the home's appraised value, according to the CFPB.
Questions people ask
- Does a house automatically go to the spouse when someone dies?
- Not always. It depends on the deed. A spouse who was a joint owner, or who held the house as community property with right of survivorship, usually takes it without probate. If the house was in the other spouse's name alone, the will or state law decides.
- What is a transfer-on-death deed?
- A deed that names who gets the house when the owner dies. In states that allow them, the house passes to that person without probate.
- Do I have to pay off my parent's mortgage?
- No, not from your own money, unless you cosigned it. The mortgage stays attached to the house, so whoever keeps the house needs to keep up the payments.
More questions
- What happens to a house with a reverse mortgage when the owner dies?
- The loan usually has to be repaid, often by selling the house. Heirs who want to keep it must pay the lesser of the balance or 95% of the appraised value. A surviving co-borrower can usually stay.