Oklahoma City, OK asked in Probate for Oklahoma

Q: If my father has no will and owns 2 homes. One is clear one is not

We live in the paid one and he is in the one with the VA loan. Without a will can we be made to move until probate is done

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1 Lawyer Answer
Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
Answered
  • Probate Lawyer
  • Oklahoma City, OK

A: I would need more information before I could answer your question.

The most important question is: How are your father's real properties titled? If he owns one or more of them as a "joint tenant with right of survivorship" and your father dies first, his co-owner will be left as the sole owner of each such property when your father dies. If that happens the property would not be subject to your father's will and would not be passed to his heirs by intestate succession. On the other hand, if your father's co-owner/joint tenant dies first, your father would be left as the sole owner and his heirs or devisees could inherit the property(s).

Your father needs to have a simple estate plan. It doesn't necessarily have to include a Will but it should at least address what he wants to happen with his real estate. If he has no Will and has not otherwise provided for the succession of his real estate, the heirs will have to probate his intestate estate in order to pass title to the property to his heirs. If he has a Will, but dies as the sole owner of real estate, his devisees will have to probate his Will in order to transfer title to his devisees. He can almost certainly avoid probate for his heirs/devisees by having a lawyer ask some questions and make a simple estate plan that includes dealing with the title to his real estate.

Your occupancy and the mortgage on the other house are other issues. If you're not living in a house that is subject to a mortgage, the mortgage lender (whose mortgage is on the other house) could not evict you directly. There may be other issues that could eventually force you out, but those would more likely be related to your father's other heirs or devisees or possibly general creditors. Or if Medicaid has paid for your father's medical care, they could possibly seize his house or houses to to reimburse Medicaid.

You should contact an experienced estate planning lawyer in your area that can help your father with a simple inexpensive estate plan. Many lawyers offer free initial consultations. Good luck.

PS: My comments here are for general information only and are not legal advice about your situation, nor do my comments create an attorney-client relationship between us. Contact a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice about your specific circumstances.

Richard Winblad agrees with this answer

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