More details to this question:
in 2009 my daughter's "common law" husband died suddenly, prior to his death (in Virginia) they had purchased a home together, there is unclaimed money in escrow from this purchase in her deceased partner's name can she claim it or will it be up to his father who is still living to claim it, even though my daughter participated by adding half of the initial money to her partners to meet this "escrow" amount? The home was sold in a short sale after his death due to my daughter's inability to meet the mortgage alone.
1 ANSWER
Lawyers.com offers general information and not legal advice. It is recommended that you confer with an experienced family lawyer in your area to discuss the following:
a) Whether the Common Law marriage is valid? There are no common law unions in Virginia. However, if the marriage took place in a jurisdiction that recongizes common law marriages the issue is whether the marriage will be valid under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. This is legal question that calls for legal advice and needs to be directed to a seasoned family lawyer.
b) If the marriage is valid, what are your daughter's rights? If it is determined that the marriage is valid, all issues of property will be resolved consistent with the dealth of a spouse. However, if the marriage is invalid this may limit the legal remedies that are available.
c) If the home sold as part of a short sale, was there a deficiency judgment at the time of sale? In other words, there were insufficient funds to satisfy the debt, does the bank have a right to request the funds to satisfy the difference?
These questions cannot be answered in this forum. Therefore, it is recommended that your daugther speaks with legal in your area to discuss these matters in greater detail. Best of luck~
Answered on Apr 08th, 2016 at 11:13 AM