Q: Do children have any right to deceased fathers home? Please see details below.
My father and my step-mother purchased a house during their marriage. My father passed away in 2007. My step-mother says he willed the house to her. She will not produce a will for anyone to view. She is trying to sell the house. She is unable to because he has five surviving children who apparently inherited or have rights to a portion of the home. Only one adult child ever lived in the house for a short period of time with the step-mother. She is saying if we do not sign over our 1/5 of 50% of the house, we will owe back taxes and insurance. Is it true in Texas we would owe back taxes and insurance? No one knew we had anything to do with the home.Two adult children will sign to documents to release the house, two will not (they think they will get money from it) and one is homeless and can't be found (if he could be found, he would want a portion of sales proceeds). I am beginning to think something isn't right. MAYBE he willed a portion of the house to his kids. I have no idea.
A:
Assuming your father died intestate, Sec. 201.003(c) of the Texas Estates Code provides that if a deceased individual who leaves a spouse has a child or descendant who is not a child or descendant of the surviving spouse, then 1/2 of the community estate is retained by the surviving spouse and 1/2 passes to the children or descendants of the deceased spouse, if any are living.
There is a presumption that property acquired during the course of the marriage is community property.
Therefore, it would appear that your father's children, once again assuming he didn't have a will stating otherwise, would split 1/2 of the community property of the marriage which likely includes the house if it was acquired during the marriage.
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