Q: My Fathers widow is still living in my parents home-How do we have her removed so that we can sell the home?

A: You do not indicate in your question whether your father died testate - with a will - or intestate - without a will, whether his surviving spouse is claiming any statutory rights to his augmented estate or family residence. I would assume he died with a will because you do not recognize any rights in the surviving spouse. Nevertheless a surviving spouse may claim an elective share in his augmented estate. Normally, the right to possession of real property is an incident of title ownership. If a person was lawfully in possession, but remains in possession after that right has expired or terminated, the person is considered a holdover tenant or a tenant at sufferance and could be evicted by the unlawful detainer process in Virginia. The unlawful detainer could be prosecuted by the title owners of the property. With an intestate decedent, the real property "drops like a stone" into the names of the heirs, who become the title owners upon death of the decedent. It is not clear that you currently have the rights as a title owner to evict the surviving spouse.

What is also different about your situation are the statutory allowances and exemptions for a surviving spouse. It is possible your father's surviving spouse has a right to continue to occupy the family residence under 64.2-308.16 of the Code of Virginia, or others. It is also possible that some of the personal property is hers, and does not belong to the estate. You should consult with an experienced Virginia probate lawyer to discuss your options and the best course of action.