Q: Marietta-living rights to the estate - can the person remarry that lives in the house?
dad left house to my brother and I but the lady he married 30 days before he died, gave her Living Rights to the estate. She has remarried but I thought she couldn't live there if she remarried. what are my rights as owner of house? I live in NC our laws are different. Please clarify. thanks you
A: A life estate lasts until the person dies. It does not matter if she remarries. But she could have exerted undue influence in getting him to change the deed, or he might not have been mentally competent, so a court might rule that the life estate is not valid. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a lawyer where he lived in Ohio.
A: It depends on both the deed and the language of his documents. If she has a "life estate" in the house, and if there are no conditions on that life estate, she can live there until she dies. If your father had a will or trust that maintains the house in trust for her during her lifetime, the document might have language in it that says she loses her right to the house upon remarriage or cohabitation. And as my able colleague Mr. Jaap says, she might have conned him into signing something he might not have signed but for his age, health and her influence. The only way for you to sort all this out is to get a copy of his Will, Trust and or Deed and sit down with an expert probate or estate planning attorney to get counsel specific to your situation, and to know if you have any reasonable options.
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