Q: My father passed away years ago. My stepmother has passed. Am I able to get any money from the sale of the property?
My stepmother said my father did not have a will and she did not name us in her will. My father's name is on the deed to the property. Our step sister said her mothers wishes were that they sell the property and divide between her the brother and 3 grandchildren. Nothing mentioned about my sister and I.
A: If the property was bought during the marriage or transferred to the marriage during Dad’s life, then there are very few fact patterns in which you are entitled to the house. If the house was truly your father’s and not your step-mother’s by operation of law or presumption, then she inherited $15,000 plus 1/2 on Dad’s death, presumably of the value on that date. <https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/estates-and-trusts/title-3/subtitle-1/3-102/>. You should retain counsel to probate Dad’s estate, and, through that, sell the house with the personal representative of Stepmom’s estate. What is and was the value of the house at both dates of death, and was Dad’s estate probated? This, of course, assumes Dad died under the terms of the current intestacy laws while a resident of Maryland.
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