Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

My mother and father had a tenancy of entirety deed on their homestead. My mother passed away a couple years ago and my dad never took the death certificate to the court house. My sister is trying to a buy a rental house from my dad and claims that the rental property must first go through probate before my dad can sell it to her (apparently my parents had a warranty deed on it).

My question is this: since my dad never filed my mom�s death certificate, could their homestead be considered part of my mom�s estate? I�m just wondering because my dad�s lawyer (who is also my sister�s lawyer) refuses to put in writing that the probate procedure would deal only with the rental property. My sister is placing a great deal of pressure on me to sign a general waiver that appears to waive my rights to my mom�s estate: right to administration, right to notification, right to accountings, and right to contest . My dad and sister recently had a falling-out, and I�m concerned she may be trying to take his property.


Asked on 5/20/10, 1:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Schmitz Elizabeth S. Schmitz Attorney at Law

If your parents house was held as tenancy by the entirety then it should not go through probate. However, I have seen estates where that type of property goes through probate either by mistake or ignorance of the law.

You need to have an attorney review the paperwork that you are being asked to sign. Signing a waiver of an account means that you will have no right to receive notice of what is going on in the estate and given these facts I would not advise that you do that.

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Answered on 5/25/10, 4:39 pm


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