Does jointly owned property pass through probate when one owner dies?
It depends on the form of joint ownership. Real estate owned by husband and wife as “tenants by the entirety” becomes the sole property of the survivor immediately upon death and the property is not subject to the probate process. If two or more persons other than husband and wife own property as “joint tenants with rights of survivorship” the property will similarly pass to the survivor outside of probate. An interest in real estate owned as “tenants in common” passes to the heirs of the deceased person through the probate process, according to the terms of the will or if no will then by the laws of intestacy. Q: Am I entitled to compensation for acting as an executor of an estate? A: Yes. Executors and administrators are entitled to “corpus” commissions of 5% of the first $200,000 of estate assets, 3% on the excess over $200,000 up to $1,000,000 and 2% on such other percentage as the court may determine on the excess over $1,000,000. If there is more than one executor or administrato
