Q: My father died, there is no mortgage but a lien against the house in his and his wife's name. Is she the rightful owner
The lien/HELOC is roughly equal to the value of the house. My sister believes she is entitled to 1/3 (split between her, me and the wife) of the house, I thought under PA law it transfers to the wife of the deceased, especially with his wife's name being on the lien? There was no living will or POA.
A:
First step is look at the title to the house. If the house was in his name only, the lienor has a claim against the estate for the amount which may make the issue pointless if, as you say, the lien is almost the value.
Generally, wife gets $30,000 of the estate. If there is money left over wife get's half of what's left after the 30,000 , you and sibs split the other half of what's left after the 30.
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