Husband passed away wife is not on the deed

[Willie Black]

The husband passed away spouse is not on deed of the house . The Wife would like to sell the house. He did not have a will can she sale it or do she need to go through probate first . Could she use a small claim affidavit to get add it to the Deed . In California

[Kyle J.]

@Willie Black  There's obviously lots of potential variables that we don't know, but the main thing to find out is how they held title.  For example, in California, it's common for a husband and wife to hold title in a way that would NOT require probate, such as "Community Property with Right of Survivorship" or in a trust.   

On the other hand, it's also possible they could have held title some other way, such as "Tenancy in Common", that might require probate. For example, suppose they held title as TIC and - as you're saying - the husband died without a will. The wife may only own a portion of the property. If the husband had heirs/children from another marriage, they could potentially make a claim for the other portion. A scenario like that could get complicated.

Point is, if I were you, my starting point would be finding out how title is held.  And then I'd have a chat with your favorite title/escrow officer and see if they can help clarify what might be required.  They deal with this stuff all the time.