Asked in Real Estate Law

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My brother and a woman he was living with purchased a home together. The woman was however still legally married to her first husband at the time of purchase. My brother and the woman were later married after she was divorced from her first husband. The deed to the property lists the woman and my brother as husband and wife and includes rights of survivor-ship. The woman died first. She left no will or property agreement. My brother just recently died without leaving a will. The woman has 3 surviving children with her first husband, but no children with my brother. My brother never adopted the woman's 3 children. Do these children have any legal claim to the estate?

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Anthony M. Avery
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Answered

A: You did not disclose what State the land is in. And you did not state the exact estate created in the Deed. But most States Intestate Succession laws are similar. It sounds like your Brother was the surviving spouse and took the Fee. At his death, his Heirs-At-Law probably take as Tenants In Common of Undivided Interests, to the exclusion of anyone else, such as her Children. You probably need an Affidavit of Heirship executed and filed now to show the world who the titled owners are.

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