Q: Grandmother and her husband are on the house deed. Grandmother died. Who gets the house and how?
We are a blended family. Step grandfather’s son called saying he has POA and wants access to the house. We never met him before and step grandfather is in nursing home, deemed medically incompetent and is non verbal.
A: Depends on how they held title to the house. The default way married couples hold title is as tenants by the entirety, which means in this instance that your grandfather is the sole owner. If, however, title is held as tenants in common, he only owns half interest and your grandmother’s estate owns the other half, which then passes per her will. Her husband, however, as a surviving spouse, is entitled to an elective share of her half. The exact percentage depends on whether there is or is not a will.
Nina Whitehurst and Cedulie Renee Laumann agree with this answer
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A:
As another attorney notes, the surviving co-owner (grandfather) would own 100% of the property if he owned it with his wife as tenants by the entirety.
A person's physical or mental state does not change their ownership of property. However, if the owner is no longer capable of managing their affairs, their property can be managed by their attorney in fact (assuming the owner did a power of attorney when they were competent) or by their guardian (if someone petitions the court to get guardianship).
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