what are her rights?

[truxalllady]

My mother's second husband died recently (they were married twenty years).
My mother took all of the money from her first husband's estate, and essentially used it for the needs of the second marriage. Her second husband did not put my mother's name on the deed to the house they shared, because he was told at the court house that it was not necessary, that because she was married to him, she automatically was part owner of the house. Now that he is gone, the lawyer my mother is seeing, says that she must split the estate with his children, half going to her and half going to them. Is this right? There was a will, but the lawyer says that it's written so badly, that it is not understandable.(They paid another, so called, lawyer $2,000 to draw up a will that is useless!!!) We live in Pennsylvania. Does she have to legally share the estate with the step children???

 

[Dandy Don]

Is the will not understandable because of the handwriting (not typewritten?) or because of the language used?

Tenancy in common is presumed in Pennsylvania, so there is a strong chance that the ownership will go to the surviving spouse only, but since the language is not "understandable" you need to be taking a copy of the will to another attorney to get his opinion about whether the will is going to be accepted as valid or thrown out because it is invalid, and whether intestate probate procedure (meaning without a will) will now take place--if that happens, then the spouse's real estate interest is somewhat protected but the children and step-children will be entitled to a share.

Is the will even clear about who the beneficiaries are and who gets the house?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])