Q: My Dad left his house to his ex-wife but NOT the contents. She has already moved in before any distribution. Legal?
My Dad passed away 2 months ago and he left his house to his ex-wife. But he did Not leave her Any items In the house. She has since moved-in and is currently helping herself to everything there. The Will says the executor has 15 months to itemize and distribute the contents. Doesn't the value of those contents decrease if they are still being used? Shouldn't his ex-wife have to wait until the contents of the house have been itemized and valued before taking occupancy?
A:
You can try to plead with the ex-wife to leave the household contents in place so that the person(s) who are entitled to them can get them. But if asking doesn't work, the only way for someone to force the ex-wife to leave the household contents alone is to open probate and have a personal representative (aka executor) appointed. The personal representative has the right to take possession of property of the estate. If the ex-wife does not cooperate, the personal representative can get a court order to force the ex-wife to turn over the property.
There are other factors that need to be addressed, such as whether the house was left to the ex-wife in your dad's will, or whether the house transferred by lady bird deed. If the former, then the wife doesn't have a right of occupancy....yet. If the latter, then the house became hers immediately upon your dad's death. You should get a consult with an experienced probate attorney if you want more information. There are many variables that are part of this equation that could change the analysis and should be discussed before coming to any hard and fast conclusions about what someone can, or should do in this situation.
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