10 Feb We inherited a condo. What’s the best choice for the deed?

Q. My mother died and left her condo at the Jersey Shore to me and my two sisters. The property went through probate. What type of deed do we need to transfer the property to our name? It is very confusing online on what type of deed can be used. We were hoping to skip an attorney and save the $750 they are charging to prepare the deed.
— Sibling

A. We’re sorry to hear about your mom.

An executor’s deed, signed by the executor or administrator, is generally used to transfer title from a decedent’s estate to heirs.

But the type of deed to prepare is not the only issue, said Catherine Romania, an estate planning attorney with Witman Stadtmauer in Florham Park.

She said when you transfer title, it is important to consider and resolve any potential title issues or liens on the property. If these are not resolved, you could have problems when you eventually want to sell the property to a third party.

“You may want to engage a title company to do a title search to ensure there are no existing liens or judgments on the property of which you are not aware and which you can resolve now before they become older, harder to resolve or bigger problems,” Romania said.

In addition, although you indicate the property “went through probate,” a tax waiver is required to transfer clear title to real property from a decedent to a beneficiary, even if the beneficiary is a Class A beneficiary such as a child of decedent, Romania said.

“This tax waiver needs to be recorded to indicate that there is no inheritance tax lien,” she said. “The tax waiver can be obtained by filing an inheritance tax return with the State of New Jersey or in some circumstances filing Form L-9 in lieu of the inheritance tax return.”

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This story was originally published in February 2025.

NJMoneyHelp.com presents certain general financial planning principles and advice, but should never be viewed as a substitute for obtaining advice from a personal professional advisor who understands your unique individual circumstances.