QUESTION
Determining the heirs to an estate
Asked on Jun 29th, 2012 on Estate Litigation - New Jersey
More details to this question:
Situation:
1. Two siblings are living in a house which was owned by their deceased parents BUT the parents names were still on the title AND there was no will legally leaving the house to the siblings
2. Sibling #1 dies with a will and leaves his estate to his child therefore leaving surviving sibling #2 living in the house
3. Is the child of sibling #1 entitled to 50% share of the house along with the surviving sibling #2?
4. Or is sibiling #2 the sole heir since sibling #1 died first AND their was no will formally naming both siblings as co-owners?
1 ANSWER
2 Awards
If I read your facts correctly Sibling #1 died after the parents. The share of the house vested in sibling #1 and he can pass it to his heirs even though the house title was not put into his name. The child of Sibling #1 is entitle to his 50% share of the house. The child of Sibling #1, or someone else, is going to have to be named as the administrator of the estates of the parents, and transfer title from their estate, into the estate of Sibling #1 and then who ever is the executor of sibling #1 estate (in the will) has to complete the distribution from his estate to the child of Sibling #1. Good luck with this issue - its not as bad as you might think it is and I have done several cases where houses were left in the original owners names. It is just a matter of sorting everything out.
Answered on Jul 10th, 2012 at 9:25 PM
Diana L. Anderson, Certified Elder Law Attorney This response is not legal advice and does not establish any form of attorney/client relationship