Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Re: divorce and life estate

He can claim all he wants, but whether he wins the claim is up to the judge. The question is whether or not the house is "non-marital" property. If so, only a limited portion of the value can be awarded to him. Your daughter should verify that only her name, not her and her husband's name, is on the deed. For informatino, the legislature enacted a new law, called transfer on death deeds, that might help in future situations. Of course, what's done is done and it is up to your daughter to show that the asset is hers, not jointly owned.

Re: divorce and life estate

One can claim anything they want. Whether or not they get it is another matter. The remainder in a life estate has a sort of unknown value. The husband could theoretically get some sort of offset for it in a divorce if he hired an economist/appraiser to put a number on its value. However, that would be unlikely that he would go through the expense of that. There is no way he is going to get your house from you right now though.