confusing issue about will/house

[CaringforMom]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? mass
sorry in advance this is confusing
grandparents passed away
The will states for house to be left to 2 of the children the other was living trust so she always would live there.
child A boy passed away
child b girl passed away
child c boy still living

Child C is listed in the will to be the excutor of the house now.
lawyer is saying the house is in trust for the 3 children.
accourding to the lawyer, For the 2 children that have passed thier share of the trust goes to the survivng "grand" children there are 6 chldren (grandchildren) to my grandparents
2 of the grandchildren are child C's children who all live in the house.
one child to child A and a serviving wife
3 children to child B
2 children to child C
problem is
the wife of the late child A is wanting what she thinks is her share of the house she thinks my uncle A ((deceased) owned a third of the house but he didnt
the house was owned by my grandmother she had owned half the house the other half was shared by her 3 children
this is confusing but the question really is
can Child C have ownership of the house as my grandmother written in the will?
Problem is the deed isnt written the way the will is written
so which Stands? the will or the registration of deeds?
how do we fix this so that my uncle C (living) has the house for him ? house been in family for over 40 years. who owns the house ? my uncle C? or is it in trust now with all remaining grandchildren and the surviving wife?
uncle A wife is just money hungry family wants to keep the house without having to sell it or give any part of it to this wife.
It is my grandmothers wish in her will for the house to go to her children.
I tried to explain this the best I could and will help in anyway i can to answer any questions you have of this confusion

 

[curb1]

Grandmother can't will a house to anyone if she didn't own the house. The title of the house will dictate what she can (or can't) will. She can include in her will the percentage she owns and that is where these situations get messy. The time that this should have been resolved was while grandmother was alive.

 

[CaringforMom]

so who would own the house then if the deed has grandparents name on it?
does it go to thier children now?
what happens to the house if no one "owns" it

 

[curb1]

You need to find out exactly how the property was titled when grandparents.

You said, "lawyer is saying the house is in trust for the 3 children". If the house is in a trust, then the trust will dictate where the house goes.

 

[CaringforMom]

trust is confusing im being told that the shares of my mother and my uncles
go to their children when they passed away but then we are told that the share dies when they died.
to confusing but im going to find out about the title of the house.
but i do believe its in my grandmothers name.

 

[HappyWanderer]

If it's in grandmother's name, then it needs to go through probate.

 

[nextwife]

Title is public record. Instead of "believing" it is this way or that way, find out. Until you do, nobody can advise you.

 

[CaringforMom]

I looked up the ownership of the house from city hall it is listed with my grandmothers name on it
so my questions are,
as stated before..the Will states for the house to be left to her children 2 have passed away does this mean my uncle who is living is now the owner of the house?
next question is
my grandmothers children who have passed away ..do thier share of the house die with them? or does it go into a trust for the widow of one uncle and the grandchildren? I think somewhere along the way my uncle (living uncle) is getting confused with what he is being told. please help if you can
hope that makes sense
thanks so much!!

 

[anteater]

I almost hate to do this to you, but... What things do you know for certain? Correct if wrong.

1) The house is titled solely in grandmother's name.

2) Grandmother's will states that the house would be left equally to all 3 children. (Your first post says "...left to 2 of the children...") And that is all that it says about the house.

3) Grandmother's will has not been submitted for probate.

4) As far as you can tell, the only mention of a trust comes from some lawyer. Neither the deed nor the will makes mention of a trust(?). And, whose lawyer is this? Who retained the lawyer?

A couple questions:

When did grandmother pass away?
When did Child A and Child B pass away? Before or after grandmother?

 

[nextwife]

Grandma's will must be probated, executor legally established., Grandma's creditors paid using Grandma's assets. Whatever remains after creditors is then subject to distrbution in accordance with her will. And any parties with mortgages, judgments or liens against the property must be paid. Do you know that Grandma was on title, or that she was on title as the SOLE owner?

 

[CaringforMom]

my grandmothers name is the only one listed as owner of proberty, is the title same as proberty assesment listed? that is where i see her listed as owner of proberly
there is no mention of trust in the will, it was told to my uncle that the shares are divided and trusted to the widow and to the grandchildren.

my mother passed away nov 2004 she was listed on the will as living will to always live in the house but not to make descions about the house since she was sick and unable to.
my uncle who passed was listed as executor and then my uncle who is living

my uncle passed away sept 06 married at time of death
my grandmother passed oct 09

There is no morgage on the house it is paid for was owned since 1947

will has not be submited for probate yet my uncle has been told differnt things including he would have to buy out the widow and grandchildren!

its a crazy mess we just want the house to stay with my uncle
the lawyer has been hired by my uncle
i hope ive answered all the questions

 

[anteater]

So, your mother (Child B?) was not to receive an ownership share of the house through the will. The will only granted her a life estate - the right to live in the property until she passed away. (???)

Grandmother's will could have dealt with the possibility of the beneficiaries predeceasing her. In other words, she could have added language to specify if a predeceased beneficiary's share would pass to the other named beneficiaries or if it would pass to the predeceased beneficiary's descendants. (Or, for that matter, to someone else entirely.)

In the absence of that kind of provision, then I believe that Massachusetts' anti-lapse provisions would apply:

Section 2-603.[Anti-Lapse; Deceased Devisee; Class Gifts.]
If a devisee who is a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he predeceased the testator, the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator take in place of the deceased devisee and if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the devisee they take equally, but if of unequal degree than those of more remote degree take by representation. A person who would have been a devisee under a class gift if he had survived the testator is treated as a devisee for purposes of this section whether his death occurred before or after the execution of the will.

All of which means that the children of the predeceased beneficiaries would receive their parents' share. If they are all minors, that may be what the lawyer means by the "house being in trust" for them.

Under this scenario, the surviving spouse(s) of the predeceased beneficiaries would not receive any part of the estate.

 

[CaringforMom]

yes that is what i am told i havent seen the will myself yet my mom was to live in the house but not listed for ownership as far as i know i will look into that today.

there are no minor grandchildren from my mom, or uncles we are all grown adults
it is my understanding that we are not listed for beneficiaries on the will
just my grandmothers 2 sons are as you know one is deceased.

my living uncle has been told that the shares of the deceased are left to the grandchildren and widow it will be great if this isnt true since the widow is thinking she will own half the house (my deceased uncles share) and wants to fight family for the house or money.
thank you!

 

[anteater]

If the deceased uncle's children are adults, I don't see why there would be any need for trusts/guardians/custodians for their share.

my living uncle has been told that the shares of the deceased are left to the grandchildren and widow...

If the deceased uncle had survived your grandmother and then passed away, then his share would become part of his estate and, conceivably, his surviving spouse could have ended up with an ownership share.

But he did not and, unless MA has some quirk that no other state I am familiar with has, the widow gets nothing. Note that the statute quoted states "...the issue of the deceased devisee..." His widow is not his issue.

 

[nextwife]

my grandmothers name is the only one listed as owner of proberty, is the title same as proberty assesment listed? that is where i see her listed as owner of proberly
there is no mention of trust in the will, it was told to my uncle that the shares are divided and trusted to the widow and to the grandchildren.

my mother passed away nov 2004 she was listed on the will as living will to always live in the house but not to make descions about the house since she was sick and unable to.
my uncle who passed was listed as executor and then my uncle who is living

my uncle passed away sept 06 married at time of death
my grandmother passed oct 09

There is no morgage on the house it is paid for was owned since 1947

will has not be submited for probate yet my uncle has been told differnt things including he would have to buy out the widow and grandchildren!

its a crazy mess we just want the house to stay with my uncle
the lawyer has been hired by my uncle
i hope ive answered all the questions

Do you KNOW what is against title or are you presuming to know? I have knowledge of people with free and clear homes borrowing against them or judgment creditors placing liens against real estate. Most people can't actually know if they have not had a title report run.

Was she in a nursing home? Was there any long term care? Title 19? State Aid? Does her estate owe money to any creditors? Old age assistance liens? Does the estate have sufficient funds to pay the creditors?