Ownership Types

• Ownership after a property is inherited can depend largely on the wording of the will and the laws of the state that apply to ownership. In general, ownership can be split between beneficiaries through either a tenants in common arrangement, or a joint tenants arrangement. A tenants in common style of ownership automatically transfers property to the other owners upon death, according to how ownership was originally divided. A joint tenants ownership provides a bit more freedom, allowing homeowners to choose a beneficiary of their own to pass the property along to.
  
  

Creating New Deed

• If a deed is owned via a clear title, then the owner can easily add someone else to the deed through the property paperwork. Essentially, the owner creates a new deed that places ownership of the property in a tenant arrangement, usually either tenants in common or joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Estate attorneys may be able to provide deed forms that owners can fill out for this process. Local governments and recording offices tend to charge fees to process these deeds and make them official.
  
  

Mortgage Deeds

• If the property is tied up in a mortgage where it serves as collateral, then adding a new person to the title or mortgage deed becomes more complicated. Usually, lenders will not allow this, since either they or an escrow company holds the deed until the debt is paid off. The best way to add or remove names when a mortgage is on going is to refinance, which replaces the original mortgage with a new version. This gives the owner a chance to add new names as well as change the terms of the loan.
  
  

Quitclaim Deed

• A quitclaim deed is a particular type of deed that can be used to transfer property rights from one person to another. All the interest in the property that the owner has moves to the grantee, the person the quitclaim deed benefits. This is a useful method for adding someone directly to the title of a piece of property or for changing ownership entirely.