Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My niece and nephew lost their mother very young. My brother in law remarried and he recently passed. The home that he lived in for many years was deeded in the new wife and his name. My niece and nephew recently found a will that lists them as receiving the home in his death. Have my niece and nephew lost everything since the step mother is listed on the deed to the home? Should they consult an attorney?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I don't know what you mean by "my niece and nephew lost everything." I do not mean to be rude, but people act as though children have some kind of right to inherit. Children do not have a "right" to inherit anything at all. The house was never their own to begin with so they could not have lost anything.
The will may have been written prior to his marriage to his new wife and may no longer be valid to the exten no provision was made for the new wife. You state that the new wife was on the deed. I assume that your brother-in-law lived in PA and that he owned the house with his new wife as a tenancy by the entireties. If this is the case, then she gets the entire house and the children would get anything else that was left to them in the will. However, if they owned as tenants in common, then your brother-in-law's 1/2 share of the home would pass as per his will to his children.
You do not indicate when your brother-in-law passed away and whether an estate was ever probated for him. If an estate was probated, is it still being administered? Was a will ever probated in that case? Was it newer than the will that your niece and nephew found? The answers to all these questions would help direct their next course of action.
They should contact the probate court in the county/state where your brother-in-law resided at the time of his death (called the Orphan's Court if your brother-in-law lived in PA) and see if an estate was ever probated. If so, they need to make a copy of the court file. They also need to get a copy of the deed to their father's home. The deed can be obtained from the recorder or register of deeds in the county where the house is located. They should then take the estate file, if any, deed and a copy of the will that they have to a probate attorney in the county where your brother-in-law resided. The attorney can review the papers and then better advise as to whether your niece and nephew get a share of the home or any other assets.