Divorce, Death & Property Sale

[jmsurprenant]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Rhode Island

In 2002 I purchased a house with my wife.
In 2007 we divorced and our divorce decree included an agreement for the distribution of the proceeds from the sale of the house.
Due to the down market and economy, we were unable to find a buyer in 2007 or 2008.
In September 2008, my ex-wife remarried. Three weeks later in October she died. Apparently she died intestate having had no will.

How can I proceed now? I'm getting remarried and I want to sell the house at a loss and be done with it.

Does her widower have a stake in the house? How do I proceed?

Thanks,
James

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Rhode Island

In 2002 I purchased a house with my wife.
In 2007 we divorced and our divorce decree included an agreement for the distribution of the proceeds from the sale of the house.
Due to the down market and economy, we were unable to find a buyer in 2007 or 2008.
In September 2008, my ex-wife remarried. Three weeks later in October she died. Apparently she died intestate having had no will.

How can I proceed now? I'm getting remarried and I want to sell the house at a loss and be done with it.

Does her widower have a stake in the house? How do I proceed?

Thanks,
James

In short, probably.

What does the decree say exactly? If it says that she gets half of the proceeds after paying debt and there ARE no proceeds after paying debt, then he gets nothing. But it's hard to say without knowing the wording.

You may require a court order to sell the house if her name is on the deed, too.

 

[LdiJ]

In short, probably.

What does the decree say exactly? If it says that she gets half of the proceeds after paying debt and there ARE no proceeds after paying debt, then he gets nothing. But it's hard to say without knowing the wording.

You may require a court order to sell the house if her name is on the deed, too.

He probably won't need a court order to sell the house. Odds are (since they were married when it was purchased) that it was joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.

I agree that its possible that her new spouse could be entitled to a portion, however that depends on what his intestate portion of her estate would be based on applicable state law. However, if there is no equity (and it appears that there may not be) its kind of a moot point.

 

[nextwife]

Actually, technically, her estate may share equal responsibility for any short sale debt that is incurred to sell it. It depends upon the language, but the lender certainly would consider she/her estate jointly responsible if they must agree to a reduced payoff.

 

[mistoffolees]

Actually, technically, her estate may share equal responsibility for any short sale debt that is incurred to sell it. It depends upon the language, but the lender certainly would consider she/her estate jointly responsible if they must agree to a reduced payoff.

That's why I said that he needed to provide the exact wording.

However, it looked like he was willing to take the loss himself in order to move on. Depending on how big the loss is, that might be the right move. If he tries to get the estate to cover their share of the loss (even if he is legally allowed to do so), it could turn into a long, drawn out battle.

 

[jmsurprenant]

Settlement agreement details...

I don't have the decree in front of me, but it stated the house was to be placed on the market to be sold immediately and that my ex-spouse would received the first 20K after expenses plus 61% of the remaining proceeds and I'd take 39%.

There was no stipulation as to who was to pay the upkeep, but I was voluntarily (and continue to do so) since she moved out of the house at the time of our seperation.

I guess I need to speak to the attorney that is settling the estate first?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Ohiogal]

Speak to your divorce attorney first.

 

[mistoffolees]

I don't have the decree in front of me, but it stated the house was to be placed on the market to be sold immediately and that my ex-spouse would received the first 20K after expenses plus 61% of the remaining proceeds and I'd take 39%.

There was no stipulation as to who was to pay the upkeep, but I was voluntarily (and continue to do so) since she moved out of the house at the time of our seperation.

I guess I need to speak to the attorney that is settling the estate first?

Thanks everyone!

As Ohiogal says, check with your divorce attorney. If you need another attorney, I would not use the estate attorney - they legally represent the estate, NOT you and you might not get the best info.

From what you've described, it's unlikely that they will have any claim, but have your attorney review the entire agreement to make sure.

 

[LdiJ]

As Ohiogal says, check with your divorce attorney. If you need another attorney, I would not use the estate attorney - they legally represent the estate, NOT you and you might not get the best info.

From what you've described, it's unlikely that they will have any claim, but have your attorney review the entire agreement to make sure.

I am not sure that I agree about the "unlikely" part. The fact that she got the first 20k, plus a disproportionate share of the remainder could indicate that other assets (ie retirement assets perhaps) were exchanged by her for a greater share of the home's equity.

I think that he needs to review the entire property settlement with his divorce attorney.