What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My father died suddenly in January 08, he did not have a will, he had two children and up until Nov 07 had lived with a girlfriend for about 11yrs. They were never married as she was receiving death benefits from the military because of a previously deceased husband. They had a very ugly seperation in November in which my dad moved out of a house that they had purchased jointly (paid off). The deed to the house listed them as joint owners. At the time of my fathers death, he had sent her a letter asking her to sell the property or buy out his half, unfortunately he died before making that happen.
Since my father had no debt and really didn't have much outside of the house and a car, my lawyer said all I really needed to do was file an heirship affidavit with the county declaring my sister and I as the rightful heirs to his share of the house. This was done in April and the deed records now indicate my sister and I as co-owners of the house. We were able to do all of this without involving his ex-girlfriend and I haven't asked her to do anything with the house, I've never mentioned the house to her at all, because I was still trying to retrieve some family heirlooms that were left at the house. Well, I've gotten everything out of the house that she'll let me have and I've just been letting things settle down a bit. The other night this ladies sister, who happens to be a realator, called me, very irrate, because we filed the affidavit without telling her about it, which we didn't have to do.
Anyway..... The cat's out of the bag and I think they were, and still are, trying to figure out how to screw my sister and I out of the house, so I think now is the time to make a formal request to sell the property. My lawyer (who specializes in estate stuff, is a friend who isn't charging me anything and happens to be out of town for 2 weeks) said I just needed to send her a certified letter asking her to sell the property or buy my sister and I out. I'm curious if anyone has done this before, what specifically do I need to say? I'd really love to find a sample letter, just to get an idea what to say, the more formal, the better.... Any help would be appreciated....
FYI, Common Law Marriage.... When my father died, I was very concerned about this, because he always referred to her as his wife, which can make things sticky here in Texas. But, when it came time to carry out his wishes of cremation, she refused to sign the paperwork as his wife and told the funeral director that they were never married. She also said this to a credit card company which he still owed a very small amount, she said they were never married and that I was the next of kin....My lawyer says because of this, she would have a very difficult time convincing a judge that they were common law married....Not to mention the federal government would be very interested in the $100,000+ in death benefits they have paid out in the last 11yrs...
Sorry for the novel....and the typos...Thanks in advance...
My father died suddenly in January 08, he did not have a will, he had two children and up until Nov 07 had lived with a girlfriend for about 11yrs. They were never married as she was receiving death benefits from the military because of a previously deceased husband. They had a very ugly seperation in November in which my dad moved out of a house that they had purchased jointly (paid off). The deed to the house listed them as joint owners. At the time of my fathers death, he had sent her a letter asking her to sell the property or buy out his half, unfortunately he died before making that happen.
Since my father had no debt and really didn't have much outside of the house and a car, my lawyer said all I really needed to do was file an heirship affidavit with the county declaring my sister and I as the rightful heirs to his share of the house. This was done in April and the deed records now indicate my sister and I as co-owners of the house. We were able to do all of this without involving his ex-girlfriend and I haven't asked her to do anything with the house, I've never mentioned the house to her at all, because I was still trying to retrieve some family heirlooms that were left at the house. Well, I've gotten everything out of the house that she'll let me have and I've just been letting things settle down a bit. The other night this ladies sister, who happens to be a realator, called me, very irrate, because we filed the affidavit without telling her about it, which we didn't have to do.
Anyway..... The cat's out of the bag and I think they were, and still are, trying to figure out how to screw my sister and I out of the house, so I think now is the time to make a formal request to sell the property. My lawyer (who specializes in estate stuff, is a friend who isn't charging me anything and happens to be out of town for 2 weeks) said I just needed to send her a certified letter asking her to sell the property or buy my sister and I out. I'm curious if anyone has done this before, what specifically do I need to say? I'd really love to find a sample letter, just to get an idea what to say, the more formal, the better.... Any help would be appreciated....
FYI, Common Law Marriage.... When my father died, I was very concerned about this, because he always referred to her as his wife, which can make things sticky here in Texas. But, when it came time to carry out his wishes of cremation, she refused to sign the paperwork as his wife and told the funeral director that they were never married. She also said this to a credit card company which he still owed a very small amount, she said they were never married and that I was the next of kin....My lawyer says because of this, she would have a very difficult time convincing a judge that they were common law married....Not to mention the federal government would be very interested in the $100,000+ in death benefits they have paid out in the last 11yrs...
Sorry for the novel....and the typos...Thanks in advance...