Q: Father in law passed away and my wife and I are listed as Joint tenants with full right of survivorship.
My wife’s brother is the executor of the will. We are selling the house that I am making the mortgage payments on. The mortgage is in my father in laws name and the executor is demanding that all proceeds go into the deceased estate and he is entitled to 1/3 after he settles the estate using the proceeds of the sale of the house. There is nothing in the will that says anything about the house. I was a co-signer on the mortgage until we refinanced the house. I was left off the refinanced mortgage because we got a better interest rate with him solely on it. The house is in Florida and will close in October and we live in North Carolina now. My wife and I put up 55k for the lot and 62k in closing cost and my father in law paid 5k filing fee. The living arrangements were he paid mortgage, my wife and I paid utilities, HOA, food, insurance and cell phone. We believe the sale of the house goes to us and the executor believes it goes to the estate. Who’s right and do I need to lawyer up?
A: If this property is joint tenants with rights of survivorship between your late father in law and you and your wife, then you and your wife are the 100% owners. All you would have needed to do is record his death certificate. If these are the facts, then the property is not part of the estate. You would not need to give anything to the estate. If you have any questions about how the ownership is stated on your deed, then you should have a real estate attorney look at it and give you their opinion.
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