A married couple owning a home jointly is a very common situation. Unfortunately, many times when the first spouse of the couple passes away, the remaining spouse believes the home automatically passes to her. This is not true. Any time one dies owning real estate, the probate process must be opened. That is the only way to pass the property. At the end of the probate process, the deceased’s share of the home is passed to the remaining spouse by a Deed of Distribution. If this process is not initiated, and more than 10 years passes, a probate case cannot be opened for the deceased spouse. In that case a petition must be filed. This is called a Determination of Heirs petition. It is used to properly pass the property to the proper heirs.