I am applying for a loan mortgage refinancing on my house with my son as a co-borrower. I have a Living Trust of my property where my son is one of the beneficiaries. My wife died two years ago. Is it not also automatic that the surviving spouse (me) gets all the assets?
No, there is nothing automatic about the surviving spouse receiving all property. If you and your wife held the property as joint tenants, or as community property with right of survivorship, you can just file a couple of forms with the county to prove she is deceased and you're the surviving owner. I recommend you hire an attorney for this. They can generally complete everything required in a couple of hours, so it shouldn't be too expensive.
However, if you held the property as community property (without the words "with right of survivorship" on the deed), if you owned the property as tenants-in-common, or especially if the house was solely in your late wife's name, you will have to go to court to resolve the property ownership. Depending on the circumstances, an attorney may be able to file a Spousal Property Petition, or may have to do a full probate.
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