Who is the owner of a house if one child's name is on the will and another child is living in the house and paying off an re-fi and taxes , but name is not in the will.

The owner of the house is the person on the deed. So, at this point it would probably be the deceased. Once the will is probated, the executor should deed the property over to the person named in the will as getting the property.

If it is being occupied by a different sibling, the estate should be reimbursing them for the costs of the mortgage and taxes.

Of course the person occupying the home can challenge the will, though I don't know what grounds they would have. Who's name is on the mortgage?

Scott,Thank You for your answer but it did confuse me when you said the will should go to probate. My mother was competent when she wrote her will and the will complies with state laws.Is there something I'm missing.

... My mother was competent when she wrote her will and the will complies with state laws.Is there something I'm missing.


Yes there is.

A will alone doesn't change title all by itself. One has to apply to the court to have the will "probated". The term "probate" means to prove a will. The court would have to rule that the will was valid before the title can actually be changed.

Who does the will name as executor?
Are you the person who inherits the house?
Knowing helps if someone needs to go apply to be executor.

Scott,Thank You for your answer but it did confuse me when you said the will should go to probate. My mother was competent when she wrote her will and the will complies with state laws.Is there something I'm missing.

A will only expresses the wishes of the decedent as to the distribution of the estate.To transfer assets an executor has to be appointed to manage the distribution of the estate. As I said, the owner is the person on the deed. Only the legal representative of the estate can transfer the deed from the decedent to the heir. Otherwise the transfer may not be legal.

The act of submitting a will to probate is getting an executor appointed and the will declared legal. If, as you say, she was competent and the will is in compliance, then there should be no problem with probate. But if the other child wants to challenge the will, there could be a fight over it.