If the deceased owned a home when they died what can be done with the home before probate makes a decision. Can a next of kin direct any instructions

  This answer is based on Georgia law and may not be accurate for other states. It completely depends on the situation, but in general, if a deceased person was the sole owner of a house or other parcel of real estate, the person's estate needs to be properly dealt with before the property can be sold or otherwise disposed of. "Properly dealt with" may mean having the Will admitted to probate and an Executor, if there is a Will; filing a petition for year's support, if there is a surviving spouse or any surviving minor (under 18) children; getting an Administrator appointed for the estate, if there is no Will and if there are any debts or the heirs can't agree on a distribution; or filing a Petition for No Administration Necessary, if there is no Will, there are no debts, and the heirs wish to agree on a distribution that is different than provided by state law. In most cases, in other words, something needs to happen before a property owned by a deceased person can be dealt with. "Next of kin" only get to influence what happens in certain situations, and then only if they are heirs and not just relatives. If the deceased person owned the property jointly with someone else, as "joint tenants" (the deed must actually state these words, or otherwise make clear that the property is supposed to be held with rights of survivorship), however, then the surviving owner, if there is one, automatically becomes the sole owner of the property and is the only one who gets to have any say about what happens to it. In that case, the decedent's estate does not have any interest in the property. If property is owned by the deceased person and someone else jointly, but NOT with rights of survivorship and not as joint tenants, then the deceased person's interest in the property is in his probate estate, and the same issues discussed in the first big paragraph of this answer will still apply to his or her interest. The best thing to do when trying to figure out what needs to happen when someone dies owning real estate is to consult an experienced probate attorney. The attorney can ask for, and often help you find, the information needed to determine what has to happen, what options may be available, and how to carry out the needed steps as quickly and efficiently as possible. But DON'T just do nothing. That's almost never the right option.