How do you change the title of a property when the owner has died (intestate) without going through probate?

I disagree with both Mr. Chen and Mr. Fromm to a limited extent. If the house is worth less than $50,000 you may be able to use an affidavit procedure to transfer title (see: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=prob&group=13001-14000&file=13200-13210 ) If the house is worth more than that, then Messrs. Chen and Fromm are correct. If your husband's grandmother's probate was never completed, then you will need to do a "double probate" (that is, you will need to probate the grandmother's estate and then probate your mother-in-law's estate). If you need representation, I can assist with probates in all California counties.

You don't and he can't. As a matter of fact, two estate probate processes are necessary to ultimately get the property to your husband. Someone needs to understand that eventually you are going to need an estates attorney to clean up this neglect and mess. Get him to a good estates attorney to get these estates moving. This situation is going to continue to be unresolved until he gets legal assistance. For a sense of what is involved in administering an estate in most states, please see the following two articles: Estate & Probate Administration: Do Not Try This On Your Own at http://www.sjfpc.com/page1.html and Pennsylvania Probate & Estate Administration: Executor Duties at http://www.sjfpc.com/pennsylvania_probate_estate__administration_duties_of_executor_and_administrator.html Hope this helps. Please remember to designate a best answer to your question. Mr. Fromm is licensed to practice law throughout the state of PA with offices in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. He is authorized to handle IRS matters throughout the United States. His phone number is 215-735-2336 or his email address is [email protected] , his website for more tax, estate and business articles is www.sjfpc.com. and his blog is