Types of Ownership

• Houses can be owned jointly or separately by spouses. If only one spouse is listed on the deed, he is considered the sole owner. The spouse who is not named can have a marital interest in the house but is not on record as the owner. A deed of conveyance would be necessary to grant full title to the house to the surviving spouse. Alternately, spouses can jointly own a house, which means that both their names are listed on the deed and they are considered co-owners of the house.
  
  

Jointly Owned

• A house that is jointly owned by both spouses is referred to in many states as tenancy in entirety. This type of ownership includes the automatic right of survivorship, which means that if one spouse dies, the other spouse automatically retains whole ownership of the house since her name is listed as a co-owner on the deed. No probate process or new deed is necessary to transfer full title to the surviving spouse since it automatically becomes hers.
  
  

Considerations

• If you have other people listed on your jointly owned house, such as your children, they are considered to have an equal amount of equity in the house. If one of them gets sued or divorced, you can lose your house. Since their name is on the deed, a part of your house is considered their property, as well. If they find themselves owing money, your house is eligible to repay the loan.
  
  

Foreclosure

• If you cannot make your mortgage payments after your spouse becomes deceased, the mortgage company can take your house. It can begin foreclosure proceedings 30 days after the first missed payment, but many mortgage companies wait 90 days before beginning such proceedings. As long as you continue to make payments on your house, if it isn’t already paid off when your spouse dies, the mortgage company cannot take your home if you are listed as a joint owner.
  
  

Probate

• If the surviving spouse is not listed on the deed and must wait for probate proceedings to occur before gaining a deed of conveyance, the mortgage company will wait until the probate proceedings are over before seizing the house, as long as the mortgage payments are still being paid. If the mortgage payments become delinquent, the mortgage company will begin foreclosure proceedings as usual. Once the spouse becomes the sole owner of the property, he can refinance the mortgage to make payments easier, if necessary.