Q: My dad passed away in Oct 2014and I am his only son and he has a wife,what are my rights,no will
They were separated she lives and has always lived in California, she came here 2 days after he died and took ever thing and went back to calif and sold the house here that was suppose to go to his granddaughter, what are my rights? She won't even give me my great,, great grandfather things that were supposed to go to me.she won't even answer any phone calls..not to mention she won't let me get my thing's that were my dad's in Calif that were supposed to go to me and my daughters.help
A:
When a North Carolina resident dies without a will, they die “intestate.” When this happens, NC law decides how the person’s property is distributed. Even if your father said he intended for you and your daughters to have certain items or property, it’s not relevant if he didn’t write that down in a will.
Under intestacy, your stepmother gets 50% of your father’s solely owned real property. She is also entitled to the first $60,000 of personal property, and 50% of any personal property above and beyond that. A surviving spouse is also allowed to claim an additional “year’s allowance” of up to $30,000. This can be taken out of the personal property of the decedent, such as cars, bank accounts, furniture, memorabilia, etc. Once your stepmother claims what she is entitled to, you should receive everything else in his estate.
Whether you have any interest in your father’s house depends on how it was titled. If he owned it as “tenants by the entireties” or “joint tenants with rights of survivorship” with his wife, she became the sole owner of the house at his death and was entitled to sell it and keep the proceeds. If he owned it in some other form, you may have a claim on a portion of the funds from the sale.
You may be able to claim that your father’s spouse abandoned him and is therefore not entitled to receive her share under the intestate laws. If you could successfully make this claim, you, as the only son, would receive all of your father’s estate. However, if they lived apart by mutual consent or for some other reason, you probably can’t prove abandonment.
It sounds like you need a local probate attorney to help you determine what exactly you are entitled to, and to help you make your claim.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
