Q: My brother wants to take my dad to court to challenge him on ownership of him and my mother's house - is this possible?
My mom and my dad sold the house they owned together in NY and bought a house together (theyre both on the mortgage) in Florida in ~2013. My dad has never lived in the house, he stayed in New York with his mom. My parents separated but stayed legally married. My brother moved to FL with my mom. My mom passed away in March 2019. My brother and my dad have an extremely bad relationship. My dad wants to just sell the house, since its his alone now, and put my brother out on the street. My brothers been reaching out to me wanting to take dad to court and say that he's not capable of making these kinds of decisions with what would be our inheritance.
Both of my parents had/have very serious drug problems, which is what lead to my mom dying and my father is basically in the same boat. My brothers been begging me to speak to a lawyer but I feel like we have no leg to stand on anyway. My dad owns that house. The mortgage is paid off and everything. Should I bother seeking counsel on this
A: Under NY law, I don't see that you have any case against your father. You can try to bring an action to be appointed the guardian of his property if he is incapable of making decisions, but that is a long process and if your father is able to make rational decisions you will loose. You can try asking the same question of a Florida attorney as the property is in Florida but I doubt that you will get a different answer.
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A: There are two issues. If your dad is incompetent, you can bring a guardianship proceeding against him. However, you need medical proof, not just some assertion he is not normal. Otherwise, it is a Florida question. While I am not a Florida lawyer, I am sure the house is his in FL, and no one has a right to it.
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