Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina
gramdmother dies without a will can step-grandfather stay in house?
My grandmother recently passed w/o a will and according to the NC laws the house and land have to split amongst her 7 childern and husband. The house and land are in my gmothers married name only. They were left to here after my natural grandfather passed. She remarried five years later and her and my sgrandfather have lived ther ever since.
5 of the childern want my stepgranfather out of the house so they can sell it along with an ajoining lot.
??-Will he have to leave until the estate is settled or will he be able to stay while it's being settled. What steps need to be taken on my stepgrandfathers behalf to asure that he recieves his fair share.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: gramdmother dies without a will can step-grandfather stay in house?
The passing of your grandmother vests title to the estate property in your grandmother's heirs that include her husband and children (and grandchildren if there is a deceased child survived by children).
The property is owned by the heirs as tenants in common. The rights of each tenant in common is equal with the exception of the percentage ownership.
Your grandfather also has the right to demand a "life estate" in the residence if he elects to do that within six months of death. The life interest differs in that he has no percentage ownership of the property but has the exclusive right to use and occupy the residence for the balance of his lifetime.
If grandfather does not elect the life estate, then any of heir owners may institute a partition of the property which will likely result in a court ordered sale of the property and a division of the proceeds among the heirs based on their percentage ownership interest.
I believe that the percentage of each child is 11.91% and that the step grandfather's share is 16.66%.
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