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My father died 8 years ago, I NEVER got any share of the house, CAN I SUE?

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chascomus

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California
My father died 8 years ago and legt a will in handwriting stating that he wants the house to go to his 3 kids, (I am one of them). After he died, my mom signed a quit claim and gave it to my sister and her drug abuser husband. Could I sue for my share 8 years after? If my sister is filing for divorce, what effect would that have?
I never once got a penny of any of the value of that house....now I want my share.
If you have any ideas please let me know.
Thank you
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
chascomus said:
What is the name of your state? California
My father died 8 years ago and legt a will in handwriting stating that he wants the house to go to his 3 kids, (I am one of them). After he died, my mom signed a quit claim and gave it to my sister and her drug abuser husband. Could I sue for my share 8 years after? If my sister is filing for divorce, what effect would that have?
I never once got a penny of any of the value of that house....now I want my share.
If you have any ideas please let me know.
Thank you
Depending on how the title to the house was held, you may already have received your share.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
If a property was held by H&W as Jt. Tenants, then it is not subject to probate, and the will would not include the real estate so held. You need to know how the property was titled at the time of his death. LIkely, it was held as jt tenants, and was legally 100% his once the joint tenant passed.

When a husband and wife own a property together in Jt tenancy, the expectation is that when one jt tenant dies, the other jt tenant get the place in full. Nobody other than the surviving jt tenant is entitled to any ownership interest.

chascomus said:
I'm in California. My husband fed a bunch of lies to his lawyer. Now, by court order I have to get out in 45 days because he claims I am "disrupting the house". The house was originally my mothers who signed it off to us as a gift 7 years ago. He is a drug and alcohol abuser (but recently semi-clean) and now I am the one who has to leave. I take care of my mom who is partially blind, in that same house....
I know my lawyer must have made some bad decisions...he chose to fight for the house while his lawyer fought for custody. I thought that my daughter, 17 yrs old, would be able to choose who she wanted to stay with....
Now I am out of the house and required to pay over $700 in child support. We had all laughed and his desire to evict me, but now realize HE GOT AWAY WITH IT!
I am looking for an apartment, but I have very little funds and will have to bring my Mom wherever I go.
Can ANYONE HELP? I would really appreciate it...even if you have a good lawyer to recommend....Thank you
However, if this is the SAME house that, in a different thread, you claim was Quit claimed to YOU and YOUR husband, then in either this or the other thread, you are not being truthful, because he can't have BOTH deeded it to JUST sis and her husband AND you and your husband!
 
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Dandy Don

Senior Member
What is the value of the home?

Was the will probated or not probated?

Statute of limitations may have expired and you may have waited too late to do anything, but you at least need to consult with a probate attorney to find out if wife was entitled to the entire house or just a portion of it and to look at the quitclaim deed to see if it was done correctly and legally or not.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Dandy Don said:
What is the value of the home?

Was the will probated or not probated?

Statute of limitations may have expired and you may have waited too late to do anything, but you at least need to consult with a probate attorney to find out if wife was entitled to the entire house or just a portion of it and to look at the quitclaim deed to see if it was done correctly and legally or not.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
Don please look at OP's other threads and the conflicting facts between them. OP's mom at least needs someone to represent their best interest, if you will note, OP there claims to be her disabled mother's caretaker and receipitent of the gifted house going through the divorce and evicted. OP needs to clarify the exact facts, in the mean time I have refered them to APS in San Mateo County.
 

chascomus

Junior Member
I see I have caused confusion in this forum!

I registered into this website for myself and my sister....that has caused confusion among many of you....and caused a few "not so friendly responses". I am now Paul writing about my father, deceased, and my sister, going through a divorce.
I can have her register and have her own name.....but she is "clueless" on how forums and discussion groups work....SO, I'll just try to be clearer when asking questions from now on!!
Those of you who responded favorably, and without little insults, I THANK you very much!
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
chascomus said:
I registered into this website for myself and my sister....that has caused confusion among many of you....and caused a few "not so friendly responses". I am now Paul writing about my father, deceased, and my sister, going through a divorce.
I can have her register and have her own name.....but she is "clueless" on how forums and discussion groups work....SO, I'll just try to be clearer when asking questions from now on!!
Those of you who responded favorably, and without little insults, I THANK you very much!
Well you are clueless as well when it comes to how a legal forum works because you have still not realy posted any facts we need to advise, that is why we look at your other posts. Once YOU create the confusion, it is difficult at best to recover your integrity. We are not confused, you are omitting the facts, something which will make any peron advising you have difficulity/ Please see a probate attorney for your probate question and bring up the fact of undue influence and also contact APS for your mother.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
A handwritten will is not always acceptable anyway. It may not meet all that is necessary for a holographic will in California. And it would have needed probated and if the deed to the house was joint tenants as others have said it would not have been part of probate anyway. It would have gone to mom to do what she wanted. And if you sued you would have to make sure the SOL hadn't elapsed, and you would sue your mom, sister and your sister's soon to be ex husband. You can't just sue the ex husband because you think that would be a great way to help your sister.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
"My father died 8 years ago, I NEVER got any share of the house, CAN I SUE?"

Poster, you have not established that you were ever legally ENTITLED at ANY share of the house.

First, go back and determine how title was held by mom and dad. If mom and dad held the property as Jt Tenants, or Husband and Wife (which carries a presumption of Jt Tenancy) or in any other way that usurps probate, then you would never have been entitled to any SHARE OF THE PROPERTY NO MATTER WHAT THE WILL SAID.

When parties take title to real estate, the form in which they hold title together DETERMINES what happens to the property upon the death of the co-owner (whether the interest passes to the co-owner's estate or to the other owner). And if the real estate is held a certain way, then, will or no will, the real estate, under law, AUTOMATICALLY belongs to the surviving Jt. Tenant. Period.

Creating Co-ownership of real estate has consequences. That is why it is important to research the potential consequences (best yet, see an attorney FIRST) BEFORE either taking title, adding someone to title or deeding out an interest in title. There are both tax and other consequences. People just take writing up and filing deeds conveying real estate interests way too cavelier.
 
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chascomus

Junior Member
House was Joint Tennants, and the will was not probated

IT all makes sense now, the house was held with my mom as JT and the will was just left, stored away in a file cabinet.
Then my mom quit claimed it to my sister and drug abuser husband. I was too young at the time to tell everyone to stop and see a lawyer.
Now my sister has been succesfully evicted. Her husaband filed against her saying she is the cause of all their problems and should leave. He sued for custody and won as well, so she now has 45 days to leave. All this he did because she finally filed for divorce, something he hadn't expected.
Now my 84 year old mom who is half blind also will have to leave since there is no one to take care of her. And they pretty much have to do it ASAP since they seemed to have found another form of revenge....he makes noise outside of her room so she can't sleep...or just gets a dog and lets it bark all night....You have to think we're are dealing with a drug abuser, liar, and past criminal....(here's the part where you all ask WHY my siter married such a guy)....but that's a whole other chapter.
Thanks for all your opinions and comments...
 

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