Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

I don't know your age, but it certainly sounds like you need your own lawyer. Your mother's right to sell the house depends on how it is titled. But you also have rights to your father's estate, and you'll need a lawyer, and if you are a minor, you'll need a guardian, to help protect your interests. Don't wait, if there is a legal services office {Community Legal Services], go there immediately to see if you qualify for free representation, and if not, contact the bar association to see if they have a low fee panel of lawyers who specialize in guardianships and probate law.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

I agree with Attorney Jacobson but add a few other comments. Addresses on driver's licenses are not relevant.

What matters is who actually owns the property as show on the deed? Did your parents both own as husband and wife? Or was the property solely in your father's name? It will make a difference. If the property is solely owned by your father, a personal representative will need appointed for his estate. The personal representative would then have to issue you a formal letter to vacate the property and the personal representative would be able to sell it but through probate so it would not be as quick of a process. If your parents owned as husband and wife, then the property automatically would pass to your mother upon the death of your father. Probate has nothing to do with this and she would be the owner. You are a tenant by sufferance and basically she can tell you to get out and sell the property without any probate.

You also do not indicate how old you are - if over 18 you are an adult; if not, you are a minor and will need a guardian.

I don't buy the fact that your father could not talk to your mother because of the protection from abuse order. Nothing stopped him from getting a family law attorney involved to start working on the divorce and division of marital assets. If both parties consented, the divorce could have been accomplished in as little as 3-6 months. Perhaps he was old-fashioned and did not believe in divorce or perhaps he hoped that he would eventually reconcile with your mother. Or maybe it was another reason. The fact remains that for whatever reason, your father chose not to seek out a lawyer and chose not to institute divorce proceedings.

Death would have abated any divorce action and since there was no divorce your mother would still have all her rights of inheritance. That means that if there is no will, you, your mother and any siblings would be entitled to a share of any property owned by your father at the time of his death. Your mother would also be entitled to a family allowance. However, this all assumes there is something to be probated. It may be that your father had probate assets and it may be that he had non-probate assets (land or life insurance or joint bank accounts are all examples of non-probate assets).

As noted by Attorney Jacobson, you need to see a lawyer NOW. So do not keep posting here - this is a public forum and its a substitute for hiring a lawyer. I suggest that you contact a probate lawyer who practices in the county where your father lived prior to his death. Attorney Jacobson has given you some good suggestions but estate cases can get nasty and expensive quickly. You should be able, through the lawyer's help, to be able to retrieve your personal possessions. If they have been sold, then you can pursue a cause of action against your mother for conversion because she was not entitled to sell YOUR things. And if there are any probate assets, the lawyer can help you recover your rightful share. So please don't delay!