If the other owner dies, what happens to the house?
In case of death of one of the residents of a house, what happens to the property? The answer to this question depends on whether it was purchased with or without a mortgage loan, or if it is rented. We clarify in this article.
For other issues regarding real estate and/or credits, contact the real estate agency Casa no Minuto or the credit intermediaries from Poupança no Minuto and ensure appropriate support, at no cost. To understand what can happen to your property, read on.
In case of ownership
In the case of the property having been acquired without financing, and one of the owners passing away, the part of the house of which they had ownership will go to the closest family members. This also applies in the case of no will.
Thus, the law stipulated in the Civil Code is used to divide the inheritance of the property among the legitimate heirs. In this case, the legislation determines the following hierarchy among the heirs.
- Spouse and descendants (children);
- Spouse and ascendants (parents);
- Siblings and their descendants;
- Other relatives up to 4th degree.
- State.
In other words, if the deceased is married and/or has children, they are the ones entitled to the real estate property in the first place. In the case of not having children, the right goes to the parents.
If there are no relatives up to the 4th degree to claim property rights, it is given to the State.
In case of mortgage loan.
If the other property owner passes away, in the case of a mortgage, they are safeguarded by life insurance.
When taking out a mortgage, banks always require you to take out life insurance in order to approve the loan and to be insured in these cases. This way, in case of default due to the death or disability of the policyholder, the insurer guarantees the repayment of the debt to the bank.
For this, banks require this insurance to have certain basic coverages, such as death coverage in case of accident or illness and coverage for Absolute and Permanent Disability - IAD (incapacity equal to or greater than 80% resulting from illness or accident). Then, you can choose the Total and Permanent Disability coverage - ITP (degree of incapacity equal to or greater than 60%, due to illness or accident). The latter is more comprehensive as the IAD coverage implies a more extreme disability.
In any case, in the event of the death of one of the holders of the home loan, the repayment of the loan is guaranteed due to the mandatory life insurance coverage.
In case of lease
But what if the property in which the owner lived was leased? In this case, the lease expires and the property must be returned to the owner.
However, know that, while spouse or descendant living in the property with the tenant at the time of death, has the right to the transfer of the lease.
To do this, you must send the landlord, within three months, a copy of the documents proving the transmission, such as the death certificate, marriage certificate for the spouse, and birth certificate for children.
If not done within the established deadline, there may be damages to bear, but you are not prevented from carrying out the transmission.
In case of having more questions related to real estate and/or credits, contact the real estate agency Casa no Minuto or the credit intermediaries of Poupança no Minuto. We guarantee a close, free support service with maximum professionalism and speed.