Q: my father has built a house for me to eventually inherit in PR. problem is my mother says her name is in the paperwork

A: Hello and thank you for using Justia. Happy New Year. If your parents we're legally married at the time of purchase of the land and constructión of the house without any prenupcial agreement, then most likely yes your Mother is half owner of the house and property. You Will need to verify the marital status at the time. Unless your Father gained ownership of said property by inheritance, use of personal funds or was single at the time then the property would be a marital property. You can verify this by doing a property title search.

If you need additional information please feel free to contact me directly.

A: Greetings:

The answer to your question depends on a variety of factors that will affect the outcome on whether your mother has or doesn't have a proprietary interest on that land.

First of all, you have to verify whether they were legally married or not.

If they were legally married, you have to verify if they had a prenuptial agreement. If they didn't the property belongs to the both of them in equal parts.

You also have to verify if your dad acquired the property through an inheritance or bought it before getting married to your mom.

You can verify the status and other details about the property in the registry of property by doing a property tittle search.

Those factors will determine whether she has rights on the property or not.

If you need additional information please feel free to contact our firm or me directly.