If a spouse dies does the surving spouse automaticaly get the house if there is no will?

Answer 1

This depends on how title to the house is held, the real estate laws and the intestate laws of the state where the property is. If title to the the property is held in joint names either as husband and wife or with right of survivorship, the spouse gets the property. Actually she doesn't "get it"; she already owned it but now it is hers alone. If the state has laws concering dower and curtesy, the spouse will at least get the right to live there for life. Some states have done away with dower and curtesy and provide for a straightforward possessory interest in the marital premises for life under certain conditions even if the surviving spouse has no ownership interest in it. Dower and curtesy are medieval concepts that have lost their significance, but some states still use them. Want to know how outdated they are? Dower gives a wife the right to live in the marital home for her life if her husband was the sole owner and if he acquired it when they were married. Curtesy give the same right to the husband but to all property the wife owned, not just the marital home. Ahh the old days. Inheritance laws vary from state to state. Some state intestatcy laws might give the spouse all of the estate or only part of it to the exclusion of children. Some of the laws give a spouse the first dollar amount or percentage of the estate, then divide the rest among the spouse and children. In that situation, depending on the value of the house, the spouse might not get the house but only a partial ownership interest. There can be so many variations on this question that it is almost impossible to answer. These are some things that could happen. There probably are other scenarios in other states depending on their laws. Bottom line is see what your particular state says.