Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas
Property
Two people purchase land together. They lived as husband & wife for 15 years. Both names are on the deed. The last 10 years or so they lived separtely and never made any changes on the land which is 1 acre on a lake. He passed away and the deed is still in both names . He has a daughter. My question is, is my mother entitled to all of the property or only half. They never married but she took his last name and they lived as husband and wife.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Property
Your father's half of the property goes to his spouse or, if single, to his kids, unless otherwise provided in a valid will. So if they qualified for common law marriage, then she would get it all. An attorney would need more facts to determine if they qualify for common law marriage and when and if that affects this property.
Re: Property
Either way, the daughter probably gets half if she was a daughter outside the "marriage."