Does a Will override the names specified on a deed to property?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Does a Will override the names specified on a deed to property?
My 2 siblings and I were mentioned in my Mom’s Will – that she wanted the house to go to us. However, the deed to the property was in my Mom’s name (now deceased) and my name. Both sisters are disabled and receiving money in food stamps and disability payments. I had to sell the property for the amount of the small mortgage left due to unemployment. Now the sisters are crying foul. Can anyone receiving disability payments from the state even own a house/property?
Asked on August 3, 2011 Kansas
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am sorry for your loss. There are two issues here and the one about the disability has nothing to do with the one about the house. First, if the house was owned by you and your Mother you probably owned it as joint tenants or tenants in common. I am assuming that there was no "rights of survivorship" and that your Mother had the right to will her half to whomeever she wanted to will it to. So she willed it to you and your siblings. So you owned one half plus one third of one half (or one sixth if my math is correct) and your sisters one sixth each. Now, were you the executor of your Mother's Last Will and Testament? You had a right to do with the property what was necessary to administer the estate but if you paid off the mortgage and half of the mortgage was your responsibility - or all of it - then your sisters may not be wrong. You may in fact owe them some money from the sale. Seek legal help here. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.