Title is held by John and Kate, as joint tenants with right of survivorship. If John dies, which is the simplest manner of establishing record evidence of the marketable title in Kate?
A.
Record a certified copy of a probate court order of John's estate distributing the home to Kate.
B.
Nothing is required.
C.
Probate the estate of John.
D.
Record in the county where the property is located a certified copy of John's death certificate.
Because John and Kate held title as joint tenants with right of survivorship, John’s interest passes to Kate by operation of law at John’s death. The simplest way to show this in the land records is to record a certified copy of John’s death certificate in the county where the property is located. Probate is not needed to transfer John’s survivorship interest to Kate because the property does not pass through John’s estate for this purpose. “Nothing is required” is unsafe from a title standpoint because the record still needs evidence explaining why John’s interest is no longer outstanding. This issue fits the Pennsylvania outline’s treatment of joint tenancy, decedents’ estates, probate concerns, and affidavits/record evidence used to clear title.
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