Q: My father just died and he did not have a will.

A: Whenever someone dies owning property in their name exclusively, an estate needs to be established in order to transfer the assets to the heirs. In your case, your father died intestate (without a will). That means that his wife is entitled to 1/3 of his estate and the children share the remaining 2/3. You then have to determine what your father owned exclusively. The description of the deed you gave leaves me wondering who owns the property. If there are two names as GRANTEES, then the property is owned by two people. If the words WITH RIGHTS OF SURVIVORSHIP appear on the deed, then the Wife is now the owner of the real estate. That does not mean your mother in law owns the other items that your father owned. That property still needs to go through the estate.

A: You indicate that your father is listed as a "guarantor and a grantee" and that his wife is listed as a "guarantee." Typically, a deed would not list someone as a guarantor or guarantee. Perhaps the deed refers to your father as a grantor, and to your father and stepmother as grantees. If this is the case, then your father and mother could have been co-owners of the property. If they were co-owners, the language of the deed would determine whether they owned the property as tenants in common, or joint tenants with survivorship. If they owned the property as tenants in common, your father's interest would be part of his probate estate. If they owned the property as joint tenants with survivorship, your father's interest would have passed to your stepmother on his death. I recommend that you retain the services of a probate attorney to review the deed and any other pertinent facts. A review of the deed (at a minimum) would be required to properly advise you.