Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas

Re: home built on spouses inherited property

This is a very interesting question, as it seems to combine real property, personal property and homestead issues.

The first thing to know that is if your spouse passes away first, and you both were still living there at the mobile home, then you would have a widow's homestead right to live there as long as you live. No, the children cannot force you to move or sell. If you decide to move, however, you may not be able to sell the property, since his children may own it.

So the next important question is whether you would get any money back for your contributions, and also whether you could take the mobile home off of the property. It sounds like the mobile home is still titled, and treated as personal property. If so, it sounds like you both paid for it with your community assets, and therefore it is community property, and you own half of it. If you or he used any separate property money to pay for it, the division of ownership could be more complicated, and you may be entitled to some money back for contributions you had made.

If he dies before you, then his will dictates what happens to his half of the community estate. He can leave it to you, or the children, or whoever he wants. If he leaves his community property to you, then the mobile home would be yours. You could live there, or move the mobile home to a different location. The carport and fences are a more sticky question.

When and if your spouse dies before you, you will need your own attorney to figure out exactly what your rights are, based upon all the details, which could not possibly be included in this forum.