Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
My father in law is elderly and retired, he lives on fixed income of ss and a very small retirement check. He is married and has a mortgage on his home in which they purchased together approx. 20 years ago, my motherin law left him 8 years ago, high and dry basically, moved out and did not return until sept of this past year, not as his wife but as a room mate and she only returned because my father in law was very ill and was hospitialized and then spend 20 days in rehab center afterwards, he has never returned to baseline and is in need of 24 hour nursing care. After he returned home from his first hospital stay, the wife acted as if she would care for him but in reality she was in hopes that he would pass away, so then she would be entitled to the home. This is not a thought, I have heard her say this out of her own mouth. After this comment was made, my husband his son stepped in a took full medical POA, so therefore she was no longer able to make medical decisions, later my father in law, Jan 28th had a massive stroke and continues to need 24 hour nursing care but at a higher level, he only has medicare ins and his small income, we have moved him in with us to care for him and now have gained financial POA as well. Our problem now is she is living at the home that she left 8 years ago, which is in both names, she refuses to pay the mortgage, she refuses to sign to sell the home, she refuses to rent the home out. We have offered her every option available to keep the home out of foreclosure, he can no longer pay the mortgage but has years of equity in the home, he only has medicare and his income and part of ours has to pay for nursing care and medications. If the home was sold, we could pay for his community based care. We have applied for medicade but unsure if he will qualify d/t the state taking her income into consideration, which again is not fair because she paid nothing in 8 years and since she moved in Sept of 2012 hasn't paid one single bill either. My husband has financial POA, does he have the right under these circumstances to force sale of the home? Does my father in law have any more leverage because of her leaving 8 years ago which is very easy to prove. When she left she drained his accounts, had paid no bills and left him with all of the bills, which took him years to recover from d/t his small income and inability to work, he is 75 years old, she is approx 18 years younger and works a full time job as a nursing assistant. Please let me know if we have any options, we are desperate now.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Not a simple problem. The property is held in joint names, and if it is held as tenants by the entireties (most likely) there is very little that can be done so long as the parties are married. A divorce would automatically convert the tenants by entireties to tenants in common, and as a part of the divorce case a partition suit could be instituted to determine the relative interests of the parties, what the equity is and whether the property should be sold. Not an easy solution.
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