Q: I was my husband's second wife. He passed away. He has 2 grown kids. He owned our house had no will
Since I'm not the mother of his kids I'm not sure how the inheritance law in PA will divide this house between us. We had no children together and this house doesn't need to be sold. His daughter and I are the Estate Adminstrators
A:
By law, the children get two-thirds and you get one-third. You do not have to pay inheritance tax on your third, as a spouse, but the children will be subjected to a 4.5% inheritance tax.
If the children demand that the house be sold to generate money to pay the tax, you will have no choice other than to sell or to take out a mortgage in order to buy out their interests. Alternatively, if your relationship with the children is really good and they are willing to give up their inheritances, they might renounce their interests in the estate. You would then inherit the whole house and pay no tax. You could agree to leave the entire house to them upon your demise or agree that, if the house were to be sold during your lifetime, you would give them two-thirds of the proceeds.
You need to consult a lawyer to discuss all this and get advice.
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