Q: My father left me his property in a trust. What should I do now?
His spouse is still living in the home. I am giving her time to move but need assistance with what to do with the deed once she is gone.
A: The general rule is that if a person dies leaving a surviving spouse, the spouse would have a life estate in the marital home, which means she has a right to live there until her death. This is despite the fact that you inherited the property. That is the general rule, so your fathers estate planning documents would need to be reviewed by an attorney to make a correct determination.
Phillip William Gunthert agrees with this answer
A: Unless a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement or some sort of homestead waiver was signed by the spouse, the spouse will usually have substantial rights and claims to an estate no matter what a Will/Trust or otherwise is written in many instances (so be aware of this potential reality). In order for the Trustee of the Trust to move property/real estate out of the Trust, they would convey the property via a Trustee Deed, per above spousal rights to the estate via spousal share rights, homestead rights (life estate/ 50% interest), family allowance, exempt property and so forth.
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