HomeA house in a parent's name
The house is still in your parent's name. Here is what that means, and what to do.
When a parent passes, the county keeps the house in their name. The tax bill keeps coming to them. Nobody can sell it, borrow on it, or insure it in their own name until the estate is opened at the probate court. That step is smaller than it sounds. Skipping it is what gets costly.
What is happening
The tax bill
It still comes, in your parent's name. It still counts. The county can sell the house for back taxes no matter whose name is on the deed.
The heirs
Without a will, Georgia law says who inherits. Every year that passes, that list can grow. Cousins. Grandchildren. People nobody has met.
The estate
Opening the estate names one person who can sign for the house. That person can pay the taxes, sell it, or keep it. It takes a filing at the probate court in the county where your parent lived.
Year's support
Georgia has a way for a surviving spouse or a minor child to ask the court for the house directly. It is called year's support. It can be simpler than a full estate.
Your roads
Side by side, with what each one takes. Selling to us is on the list. It is not at the top.
Open the estate and keep the house.
Someone files at probate court and is named to handle things. That person gets the deed moved into the family's names. Then the taxes get paid in the right name, and the house is yours to keep.
Open the estate and sell it.
Same first step. Once someone is named, they can sell the house and split the money the way the will or the law says.
Ask for year's support.
For a surviving spouse or minor children. You ask the probate court to set the house aside for you. It can be faster than a full estate. A probate attorney or the court clerk can tell you if it fits.
We help with the cost of opening the estate.
The court fees, the attorney, the paperwork. Families put this off because of the cost. We help pay it when the family's road runs through us. Ask us how that works.
Do nothing.
The taxes keep running. The list of heirs keeps growing. The county can sell the house for taxes. We say this plainly because it is the road most families end up on by accident.
Own a share with brothers or sisters who will not agree? Our sister company, Clear Heir, buys one heir's share without the rest of the family signing. See Clear Heir.
What we do
We work with Georgia families when a house is still in a parent's name. Tell us the address. We pull what the county shows: who is on the deed, what is owed in taxes, and whether an estate has been opened. Then we go through the roads. If the family wants to keep the house, we say what it takes. If the family wants to sell, we help with the estate cost and can be the buyer.
Questions families ask
Do I need probate to sell my late parent's house in Georgia?
Almost always, yes. A buyer's closing attorney needs to see who has the right to sign. That usually means someone has been named by the probate court.
How long does opening an estate take?
Weeks to a few months, depending on the county and whether the heirs agree. It is the taxes that cannot wait.
There is no will. Who owns the house?
Georgia law lists who inherits when there is no will. Spouse and children first. We can tell you what the county shows and who would need to sign.
My siblings will not agree on anything.
Call anyway. Some roads only need the person the court names. If you want out of your share and the rest of the family will not sell, our sister company Clear Heir does exactly that.
Do you buy the house?
If that is the road the family picks, yes. It comes last on the call.
Tell us the address. We will pull who is on the deed and what is owed.
Free to call. You do not need to be the one handling the estate to ask.
Prefer to talk? Call 678-379-6820