[golfnut68]

If a house is left out of the will of a couple that both parties have passed away and they had a will but did not include the house in the will, what is the disposition of the house?

[harry chickpea]

"If a house is left out of the will of a couple that both parties have passed away and they had a will but did not include the house in the will, what is the disposition of the house?"

Upset???


*not an attorney - just know how most of this stuff works*

A lot would depend on how the mortgage was recorded, how their wills were written, the sequence of death, and if the proper updates were made after death of the first spouse. Other minor issues are any mortgage or tax liability or liens. Otherwise, standard probate laws would apply.

Joe Jones has two kids by a previous marriage and marries Jane Doe, who also has two kids.

Joe writes his will that if he dies, 1/2 of his possessions go to his wife and 1/2 (by name) to his kids by previous marriage.

Jane writes a mirroring will, that if she dies 1/2 possessions go to Joe, one-half to her kids.

The couple buys a house jointly with right of survivorship.

Together, they have two more kids.

Joe soon dies. He has little money at his death.

The house passes to Jane from right of survivorship. Joe's personal effects and bank accounts are divided after burial expenses, according to his will. Jane feels the new children will eventually inherit the house, and she doesn't contest the distribution, since the cost would be more than the potential gain.

A year later, before she updates her own will, Jane dies.

Her will is contested. Since she didn't update her will, and she is sole owner of the house, her will would have treated the home as a personal possession and given everything to her children by the first marriage and nothing to her new children.

IIRC, the age of offspring doesn't matter as far as the thrust of probate law. A grown child earning a million a year has the same rights to an estate of a thousand dollars as an infant sibling.


In a different scenario, the couple are childless, have no living relatives, and the house has a mortgage. Unless the mortgage continues to be paid, the ownership goes into default back to the mortgage company after it forecloses. Any claim made prior to foreclosure has to verify ownership and liens, notify the parties involved, and continue mortgage payments while petitioning the courts. The courts then have to decide ownership, based on all claims and probate law.

As the two examples show, the answer to the question isn't always simple, and getting proper legal advice from an Alabama attorney specializing in probate law would be vital if any claim was to be made on the property.