Father died, baby due in 6 weeks, no will, his parents liquidating assets

[enigma1774]

FLORIDA

Any help is greatly appreciated. My daughter is twenty years old and 7.5 months pregnant. The father, her fiancee, passed from leukemia on October 20th leaving no will. He owns a house and car (both paid in full) that he shared with my daughter up until his death. Upon his passing his parents advised my daughter to vacate the property and leave the car as they cancelled the insurance. They are in the process of putting the house up for sale (house is half owned by his sister) and have no intent of putting a percentage of the sale proceeds into trust for the baby. My question, once the baby is born and proven a legal heir is it possible to petition the court for a percentage of the house and car sale. We are looking for a trust for the baby to get at 18 years of age, not being greedy. My daughter quit her job to spend weeks in the hospital with the man she loved and has been left with nothing by his parents. I know she has no rights but I will protect any rights this unborn child has! Thank You

 

[Proserpina]

FLORIDA

Any help is greatly appreciated. My daughter is twenty years old and 7.5 months pregnant. The father, her fiancee, passed from leukemia on October 20th leaving no will. He owns a house and car (both paid in full) that he shared with my daughter up until his death. Upon his passing his parents advised my daughter to vacate the property and leave the car as they cancelled the insurance. They are in the process of putting the house up for sale (house is half owned by his sister) and have no intent of putting a percentage of the sale proceeds into trust for the baby. My question, once the baby is born and proven a legal heir is it possible to petition the court for a percentage of the house and car sale. We are looking for a trust for the baby to get at 18 years of age, not being greedy. My daughter quit her job to spend weeks in the hospital with the man she loved and has been left with nothing by his parents. I know she has no rights but I will protect any rights this unborn child has! Thank You

Your daughter absolutely needs an attorney.

She was not married to Dad which leaves her in an unfavorable predicament.

 

[justalayman]

Florida statute:

732.106 Afterborn heirs.—Heirs of the decedent conceived before his or her death, but born thereafter, inherit intestate property as if they had been born in the decedent’s lifetime.
History.—s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 10, ch. 75-220; s. 6, ch. 77-87; s. 952, ch. 97-102.

732.103 Share of other heirs.—The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under s. 732.102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, descends as follows:
(1) To the descendants of the decedent.

So, it would appear the child (if this is the decedents only child) inherit all of their fathers estate- 100%.

get thee to a lawyer to stop his parents from taking action. They are messing with the child's inheritance.

 

[anteater]

You state that he and his sister owned the house. Do you know how they owned it - as tenants in common or as joint tenants with right of survivorship?

 

[justalayman]

You state that he and his sister owned the house. Do you know how they owned it - as tenants in common or as joint tenants with right of survivorship?

If it was JTWROS, why are the parents demanding the pregnant girl move and why are they selling it? They would have no authority to do anything regarding the house.

Heck, even if it wasn't JTWROS, what are the parents doing doing anything since 1/2 would then be the decedents sisters. Unless the sister also wants to sell the house at this time, it is way premature to do anything.

 

[TheGeekess]

Florida statute:










So, it would appear the child (if this is the decedents only child) inherit all of their fathers estate- 100%.

get thee to a lawyer to stop his parents from taking action. They are messing with the child's inheritance.

(2) For the purpose of intestate succession in cases not covered by subsection (1), a person born out of wedlock is a descendant of his or her mother and is one of the natural kindred of all members of the mother’s family. The person is also a descendant of his or her father and is one of the natural kindred of all members of the father’s family, if:
(a) The natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the person born out of wedlock, even though the attempted marriage is void.
(b) The paternity of the father is established by an adjudication before or after the death of the father. Chapter 95 shall not apply in determining heirs in a probate proceeding under this paragraph.
(c) The paternity of the father is acknowledged in writing by the father.
History.—s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 11, ch. 75-220; s. 7, ch. 77-87; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 2, ch. 87-27; s. 954, ch. 97-102; s. 8, ch. 2007-74; s. 2, ch. 2009-115.
Note.—Created from former ss. 731.29, 731.30.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.108.html

 

[justalayman]

(b) The paternity of the father is established by an adjudication before or after the death of the father. Chapter 95 shall not apply in determining heirs in a probate proceeding under this paragraph.
(c) The paternity of the father is acknowledged in writing by the father.


The section I cited is based on the relationship having been established. I have to presume that it would not be an issue to prove paternity.

So, presuming the relationship can be established:

it would appear the child (if this is the decedents only child) inherit all of their fathers estate- 100%.

get thee to a lawyer to stop his parents from taking action. They are messing with the child's inheritance.

 

[anteater]

If it was JTWROS, why are the parents demanding the pregnant girl move and why are they selling it? They would have no authority to do anything regarding the house.

Heck, even if it wasn't JTWROS, what are the parents doing doing anything since 1/2 would then be the decedents sisters. Unless the sister also wants to sell the house at this time, it is way premature to do anything.

Who knows? Maybe the parents are the controlling/intimidating types and the sister will do what they say. As for the OP's daughter, I would not be in any hurry to vacate, no matter who says what.

But my point is that, if the the deceased and his sister were joint tenants, then the unborn child does not stand to inherit an interest in the house or the proceeds from its sale.

If it is tenants in common, neither the parents nor the sister are going to be able to sell it.

 

[enigma1774]

You state that he and his sister owned the house. Do you know how they owned it - as tenants in common or as joint tenants with right of survivorship?

The deed states tenants in common

 

[anteater]

The deed states tenants in common

Then help your daughter start searching for that attorney before the parents start muddying the waters with some crazy attempt to sell the deceased's assets.

 

[enigma1774]

If it was JTWROS, why are the parents demanding the pregnant girl move and why are they selling it? They would have no authority to do anything regarding the house.

Heck, even if it wasn't JTWROS, what are the parents doing doing anything since 1/2 would then be the decedents sisters. Unless the sister also wants to sell the house at this time, it is way premature to do anything.

The sister is pushing for the sale of the house. My daughter moved out of respect for the parents wishes. We didn't want them changing the locks with all her things inside.

 

[anteater]

The sister is pushing for the sale of the house. My daughter moved out of respect for the parents wishes. We didn't want them changing the locks with all her things inside.

If there is some communication going on, you or your daughter might want to clue them in that nobody has the legal authority to dispose of the deceased's assets until probate is opened and a personal representative for the estate is appointed by the court.

 

[enigma1774]

Then help your daughter start searching for that attorney before the parents start muddying the waters with some crazy attempt to sell the deceased's assets.

I will be contacting an attorney first thing in the morning but I am a bit confused as to what type of attorney I need. Family, Civil, Probate?
Thank you so much for your help.

 

[justalayman]

The sister is pushing for the sale of the house. My daughter moved out of respect for the parents wishes. We didn't want them changing the locks with all her things inside.

sister owns 1/2 of the house. Your grandchild owns the other half. While sister can sell her 1/2 of the house, grandchild is not required to. Tough to find people that will buy 1/2 of a house.

 

[enigma1774]

sister owns 1/2 of the house. Your grandchild owns the other half. While sister can sell her 1/2 of the house, grandchild is not required to. Tough to find people that will buy 1/2 of a house.

LOL. Thanks for the smile! It's been a tough week.