Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How true. People always talk about life skills that should be taught - making a budget, paying bills, buying a house, saving for retirement. Most kids don't get it from their parents, 'cause the parents are nearly as ignorant. We should add estate planning to the list. Not that many of us leave an estate, but many have houses and there always seems to be family drama.
Good post!
I watched this happen to an aunt on my husband's side of the family. She married twin brothers one after the other and nursed each until they were gone. Once the second one was dead his family rushed in and locked her out. She was never even able to get her own belongings out of the house.
This is the way the story was presented to us. I know there are multiple sides to every story. If this is the way it happened I doubt any appeal was ever even made to law.
These people were not very bright bulbs and I doubt they even realized the legal aspects of their situation. They were all sort of backwards country folks and probably considered all their lives that lawyers only existed to scam them out of money.
They were accustomed to running their own lives with no assistance from "outsiders." I don't know how you get the message to old folks that times have changed.
Your stepgrandfather left his girlfriend at the mercies of his children when he didn't have to. Further, I can see any number of situations where the owners of record of the property (presumably the children after your grandfather died) could have been left with significant financial burden - was the girlfriend paying rent? Who was paying for repairs? Was there a mortgage?
Also, my father is living with me now at 86 and has full-blown dementia, so I'm wondering how capable this woman was of taking care of herself in her 80s.
I'm struggling to believe these details - it sounds like there is something off here.
The married couple had a Will. Then, the husband of that married couple went behind the wife's back and changed the Will while the wife was still alive and was still his wife? I don't think you can do that.
Any changes to the Will my husband and I have, while each are alive and we are still married, have to be done by both of us. Not just one of us.
That's if you have a joint will. In some cases, each half of a couple has their own wills, and can change them as they like. It was done to me by my late H, so I know it's possible. Fortunately, I didn't care about the change, (which was major) which he told me about when he was close to death, so it was all OK. Not good, but OK.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 9 days ago)
35,635 posts, read 17,975,706 times
Reputation: 50665
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bungalove
That's if you have a joint will. In some cases, each half of a couple has their own wills, and can change them as they like. It was done to me by my late H, so I know it's possible. Fortunately, I didn't care about the change, (which was major) which he told me about when he was close to death, so it was all OK. Not good, but OK.
I don't see how that could work in this case. If you have a prenup, for example, and certain property is excluded from community property, I could see it.
I only know Texas law, and our property is community property. My husband doesn't own it outright, and can't make decisions without my signature on who will get our house upon his or my death. I own half the house.
Is that not the way it works in other states? One member of the couple can decide whom to will the real estate to?
My dad got thrown out of his girlfriends house where he had lived with her for over 25 years. She was starting to need more care as her alzheimers progressed. When dad had to spend a few days in the hospital, her family took her home and said Dad had to live somewhere else. The each had their own money. Their both gone now. I would not want to have to deal with her family if he had married her.
If your stepgrandpa cared so much for her, and was concerned about her living out her life in the house, why didn't he arrange for her security legally? Why do men do this? Did he leave no will? If he didn't, that was not very smart or responsible of him at all. Who is paying for her nursing home?
I'm struggling to believe these details - it sounds like there is something off here.
The married couple had a Will. Then, the husband of that married couple went behind the wife's back and changed the Will while the wife was still alive and was still his wife? I don't think you can do that.
Any changes to the Will my husband and I have, while each are alive and we are still married, have to be done by both of us. Not just one of us.
Wow, I did not even realize that couples could have joint wills. I always thought that each person made their own will.
Now, most/many married couples have property that they own jointly so even with a will saying something different the spouse can't "give away" in the will to someone else something that does not belong to them.
Of course, there are different ways of "owning property jointly" so I suppose, for example, a husband tenant-in-common with his wife on the family home may decide to will his share to his children instead of his wife. But, I would hope that couples would discuss things like that in advance and make sure that spouses are protected and everything is legal.
I'm struggling to believe these details - it sounds like there is something off here.
The married couple had a Will. Then, the husband of that married couple went behind the wife's back and changed the Will while the wife was still alive and was still his wife? I don't think you can do that.
Any changes to the Will my husband and I have, while each are alive and we are still married, have to be done by both of us. Not just one of us.
An individual generally has a will, not a couple. I've never heard of a "joint will" - but I'm constantly surprised :-)
It all depends on how the home was titled -- was it just to the husband, or as a joint tenancy? Does the state they live in have homestead laws, that favor widows/widowers in this situation? Lots of unknowns here, too many to make sweeping generalizations. A husband and a wife can own property separately, but the fact that this was her home was a wrinkle.
Agreed, though -- a dirty trick. Husband figured he'd be dead and wouldn't have to deal with his wife's ire. If the wife could prove that the husband was mentally incompetent while making the second will, the will could be contested, but that's going to get messy . . .
The dirty trick was the husband signing a new will and not letting the wife know. If that was done to me, I would not be buried next to the liar. Let his daughter have that space. At least the elderly lady had a place to live till she died.
I too have seen family relationship die because of the greed of the offspring. Part of my own family.
Sounds more like the daughter badgering an elderly man with diminished faculties.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
