Quick answer: If you and your spouse owned your Northern Virginia home together with the right of survivorship, which is how nearly all married couples here hold title, the house became yours alone at the moment of death. No probate is needed for the house; you record the death certificate with the county and you can sell whenever you are ready. Two tax rules matter: you can still use the full $500,000 married capital gains exclusion if you sell within two years of the death and do not remarry, and half of the home’s value “stepped up” to its date-of-death value, which lowers the taxable gain. I’m David Mount, a REALTOR with The Redux Group of eXp Realty and a Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist. I have helped families sell in the year after a loss, and the advice I give every one of them is the same: there is no deadline in the first months, and the house will still be there when you are ready. When you want to talk it through, call or text me at 571-946-8418.
Last reviewed and updated: October 22, 2026
First: how is the house titled?
Pull the deed (your settlement papers from when you bought, or the Circuit Court land records for your county) and look for one of these phrases:
- “Tenants by the entirety” or “joint tenants with right of survivorship.” The house passed to you automatically. No probate for the house. Record a certified death certificate with the Clerk of the Circuit Court (an affidavit of survivorship is customary in Northern Virginia), and title companies will close on your signature alone.
- Your spouse’s name only, or “tenants in common.” Your spouse’s share passes under the will, or under Virginia’s intestacy rules if there was no will, and that share goes through probate before the house can sell. That is a different path; my executor’s guide to selling a house in Virginia covers it, and so does the inherited property guide.
- A revocable living trust. The successor trustee sells. See selling a house held in trust after a spouse dies.
The two tax rules that decide timing
1. The two-year window for the $500,000 exclusion
A married couple filing jointly can exclude up to $500,000 of gain on a primary residence. A surviving spouse keeps that $500,000 figure, instead of dropping to $250,000, if the sale closes within two years of the date of death and the surviving spouse has not remarried (IRC § 121(b)(4)). After two years the exclusion falls to $250,000. For a couple who bought in Burke or Vienna in the 1990s, the gain can easily exceed $250,000, so the two-year date is the one real deadline on the calendar.
2. The half step-up in basis
Virginia is not a community property state, so when one spouse dies, half of the home’s value is reset to its fair market value on the date of death. If you bought for $300,000 and the house was worth $800,000 at death, your new basis is $150,000 plus $400,000, or $550,000. Combined with the exclusion, most surviving spouses in Northern Virginia owe no capital gains tax at all if they sell within two years. Get a date-of-death appraisal now, even if you are not selling for a year; it is the document your CPA will ask for.
What to do in the first ninety days (and what to leave alone)
- Order ten certified death certificates. Title companies, the county, the mortgage servicer, and insurers each want one.
- Call the mortgage servicer. Under federal rules a surviving spouse can keep paying and later assume the loan without requalifying. You do not have to refinance to stay.
- Record the death certificate (and affidavit of survivorship) with the Circuit Court clerk in your county. This is a one-time step that makes a later sale simple.
- Get the date-of-death appraisal.
- Update the homeowner’s insurance to your name only.
- Do not list the house. Do not accept the cash-offer postcards that start arriving within weeks of a death notice. Do not let anyone rush you into “simplifying.” The decisions above protect your options; selling closes them.
When people in this situation actually sell, and how
In my experience the decision usually comes six to eighteen months in, and it is rarely about money. It is the stairs, the yard, the distance from children, or the quiet. When the time comes, the sale itself looks like any other well-run listing: a plan for the belongings (estate sale, donation, family), light preparation that pays (paint, carpet, a deep clean; I rank it by return), professional photos, and a timeline built around you. Many of my clients in this situation choose a private, off-market sale to a vetted buyer so they never have strangers walking through on a Saturday. Both routes are on my as-is selling guide and my private sale page.
When you are ready to talk about the house, I am here.
Call or text me at 571-946-8418. The first conversation is about your timeline and the two tax dates, nothing else.
Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist (CPRES). 12+ years in Northern Virginia. Five-star review from Anne M. on a Burke estate sale.
Families I have helped after a loss
- Lake Braddock, Burke, 2025. Four heirs, two living in the house. Sold as-is at full price with every sibling on the same page. Anne M.’s five-star review is on the inherited guide.
- Falls Hill, Falls Church, 2020. A sole heir, a full clean-out, no renovations, under contract in 12 days.
- Chapel Square, Annandale, 2022. A sole heir’s estate sale, $785,000, contract in six days.
- Springfield Park, Springfield, 2023. A house untouched for decades, sold privately for cash on the family’s timeline.
Those were estates. The surviving-spouse situation is simpler on paper and harder in every other way, and I treat it that way. The full case studies are on the Fairfax County inherited home guide.
No timeline, no pressure. Text me when you want a second opinion on anything above.
571-946-8418. I will reply myself.
Frequently asked questions after the death of a spouse
Do I need probate to sell our house after my husband or wife died in Virginia?
Not if the deed says tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship, which covers nearly all married couples in Northern Virginia. The house is yours automatically; record the death certificate with the Circuit Court clerk and you can sell on your signature alone.
How long do I have to sell to keep the $500,000 capital gains exclusion?
Two years from the date of death, provided you have not remarried (IRC § 121(b)(4)). After that the exclusion drops to $250,000.
What is the step-up in basis for a surviving spouse in Virginia?
Half of the home’s value is reset to its fair market value on the date of death. Your basis becomes half the original cost plus half the date-of-death value. Get an appraisal as of that date.
Can I keep the mortgage in my late spouse’s name?
Yes. Federal rules let a surviving spouse keep paying and assume the loan without requalifying. Call the servicer; you do not have to refinance.
Should I sell right away?
No. Record the death certificate, get the appraisal, update insurance, and call the servicer. Those protect your options. Most people decide about the house six to eighteen months later, and the only hard deadline is the two-year tax window.
Can I sell without showings?
Yes. I arrange private sales to vetted buyers for clients who do not want public showings. It costs a little in price in some cases and nothing in others; I will tell you which applies to your house.
Have you helped people sell a home after a death in the family?
Yes. I am a Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist and have sold estates in Burke, Falls Church, Annandale, and Springfield, including a four-heir sale where two heirs lived in the house.
Still have questions? Call or text me at 571-946-8418.
Or leave your name and number in the form just below and I will text you back.
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David Mount, REALTOR, CPRES, MRP
The Redux Group of eXp Realty
NVAR Platinum Top Producer