Help! Mother didn't have will...

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

My mother passed away without a will. I have lived with her in her home all of my life. When she was getting closer to the end of her life, due to cancer, my fiance and I tried to get her to make a will. She went to the lawyers office a few times, but in the end she just too sick to sign it.

I appartently have a niece, that I have never met, from my brother who died before I was born. I have never met her in my life. My lawyer is now telling me that she is due half of my mothers estate-- the house my family and I live in. I have paid every bill, all the property taxes, and everything else.

My question is that in RI, shouldn't *children* come first before granchildren when talking inheritence wise?

Can anyone give me advice?!

thewiserspicer said:

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

My question is that in RI, shouldn't *children* come first before granchildren when talking inheritence wise?

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Well none of the states in the Union share your belief that living children have preference over the descendants of deceased children. Which includes your state of Rhode Island and its laws of intestate succession. *


[*] Rhode Island General laws § 33-1-1 Real estate descending by intestacy to children or descendants, parents, or brothers and sisters. –

“Whenever any person having title to any real estate of inheritance shall die intestate as to such estate, it shall descend and pass in equal portions to his or her kindred, in the following course:
(1) First to his children or their descendants, if there are any.

* * * *”

You have the option of offering to buy out nieces interest in the house.

Is brother still alive?

And get ready to start paying 'rent' to the estate.

nextwife said:

You have the option of offering to buy out nieces interest in the house.

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Would you care to cite legal authority out of Rhode Island or any other state supporting that conclusion? Because there is no legal basis for it whatsoever.

For you information future wife, under Rhode Island law title to real property vests immediately in the devisee(s) or heir(s) immediately upon the death of the deceased. (See: DiCristofaro v. Beaudry, 113 R.I. 313, 319; 320 A.2d 597, 601 (1974)

If the home is distributed in intestacy to the OP and her niece it would create an estate in cotenancy with each heir vested with equal undivided ownership.

And no where within the laws of cotenancy does one cotenant have the option of purchasing another cotenant’s partial interest. Cotenants hold their title to land totally independently of all other covenant’s interests.

The OP would no more right to purchase the niece’s title to the home than she could compel a neighbor to sell his or her home!

MOREOVER, NO ONE HERE IS GOING TO BE OBLIGATED TO PAY RENT! Not to the estate nor to another co-owner.
______________________

Is brother still alive?

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And work on work on your reading skills.

“I have (a niece) I’ve never met, from my brother who died before I was born.”

latigo said:

And no where within the laws of cotenancy does one cotenant have the option of purchasing another cotenant’s partial interest. Cotenants hold their title to land totally independently of all other covenant’s interests.

The OP would no more right to purchase the niece’s title to the home than she could compel a neighbor to sell his or her home!
”

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nextwife said:


OFFER TO BUY OUT the nieces interest. Nowhere did nextwife say anything about the niece being required to accept the offer.

We're still working with Lat on the "plays nicely with others" thing!

thewiserspicer should be asking the attorney to SHOW YOU the law book that shows the actual citation for intestate law that backs up his opinion, so you can see it for yourself. This problem could have been avoided if your mother had had the time to complete her will. So therefore you must accept whatever consequences have arisen.

justalayman said:

nextwife said:


OFFER TO BUY OUT the nieces interest. Nowhere did nextwife say anything about the niece being required to accept the offer.

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OPTION/ “The exercise of the power of choice; a thing that is or may be chosen; the freedom, power, or right to choose something;’ the right to buy or sell a particular thing; a contract whereby one person purchased the right for a certain time, at his election, to purchase property at a stated price."

[“Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language – Unabridged” (page 1711) “The Oxford American College Dictionary” (page 988)]

latigo said:

OPTION/ “The exercise of the power of choice; a thing that is or may be chosen; the freedom, power, or right to choose something;’ the right to buy or sell a particular thing; a contract whereby one person purchased the right for a certain time, at his election, to purchase property at a stated price."

[“Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language – Unabridged” (page 1711) “The Oxford American College Dictionary” (page 988)]

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very good. Now put that in context with the statement:

You have the option of offering to buy out nieces interest in the house.

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so, yes, OP had the right, freedom, or power (the synonyms of option you provided) to offer (the pertinent word that you somehow continue to disregard) to buy the other party's interest.

Not sure why you thought posting the definition of option would change anything. It obviously doesn't. It still does not imply the OP had the right to demand the niece accept the offer.

so, a bit differently;

op can offer to buy the interest, it is an option available to them.