Q: Mother & Father are divorced 30+ yrs, and mother's name is on the deed; he passed away - who owns the house?
My father-in-law and his ex-wife had one daughter (my wife). He also had a second daughter (my wife's half-sister). My mother-in-law's name appears on the deed beside his. Her name was never removed, and there is no information in the divorce decree. There is no will we can find. Even so (under PA law) we are not sure who "basically" owns the house now that he passed away.
A:
You will need to consult with a lawyer to sort this out.
If both names are on the deed, the question is whether they owned the house as "husband and wife," that is, as tenants by the entireties, or as tenants in common. If the former, the house passes to her automatically, by right of survivorship, unless...If owned as tenants in common, she would own half and half passes through his estate. It is most likely the former, but you need to consult a lawyer.
The "unless" is if someone locates a copy of a Property Settlement Agreement, which provided for the separation of title to the home. Your mother-in-law should know, and, possibly, have a copy. If not, a copy may have been recorded as part of the divorce papers.
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