State? WA
OK. MIL and FIL bought the RV in 1987, with their money no credit or anything. In 1992 when FIL became ill it was just sitting outside the carport and was used as an extra bedroom when too many people visited at once.In 1997 my husband moved in with his parents as his father was realy ill an looked after his dad and mom. I came in my husband life in 2000 just after FIL passed away.In 2000 FIL passed away and MIL kept the RV. In 2003 my husband bought new belts etc to make sure that the RV was kept up so that we could travel. Mom said then that we were the only ones that would enjoy the RV so she put my husband on the title, we maintained it so we could take trips with it. Yes MIL left a will, stating that everything need to be divided by the 5 boys, that will was made up in early to mid eighty's even before FIL passed away. We dont know if it is joint or common as we cannot get into the house and thats where the title is.
*****
Dear pfwest,
I will assume all the players reside & all the transactions occurred in Washington.
1987: H & W bought RV. Washington law presumes a purchase made by a married couple is their community property, & I'll assume that here. It is unstated, but I will assume that they took title as Joint Tenants. If no form of holding title was expressed, it was their community property.
2000: When H died:
The RV would have passed to W if title in Joint Tenancy.
The RV would have passed to W if H died intestate (ie, without a Will).
H's 1/2 community interest in the RV would have passed to whomever H specified in his Will if he died testate (ie, with a Will).
I will assume H's interest in the RV passed to W upon his death, altho this is not certain.
2003: W retitles RV in her name + your husband's name, probably as Joints Tenants, altho this is not stated. This is a very common transaction between an older widowed parent & an adult child --- the problem is that it is unclear what parent intended. Usually, what is intended is that this tranaction be what is known as a "Will substitute," that the parent is not intending to make a present gift of the property but only that it pass to the adult child at the parent's eventual death. Unfortunately & ambiguously, the law provides that without further information, when property is put into joint tenancy form, such as probably happened here, a present gift is made --- here, a gift of half of the property, to take effect now, now later, at the parent's later death. As you can imagine, this has resulted in numerous lawsuits, attempting to come to terms with what the parent intended. Furthermore, it is possible altho unlikely that parent may have intended only that the RV pass to your husband to avoid having to probate it --- on the understanding that your husband was to share it with the parent's other heirs, ie, your husband's siblings. What a mess & the making of a lawsuit! Putting property into Joint Tenancy form is cheap & easy, but it can really come back & bite you at death, just as you are now discovering. For further information about Joint Tenancies, see: B. Joint Tenancies, on:
http://www.wa-probate.com/Avoid-Probate/index.html
From what you say, it appears that W wanted your husband to have the RV at her death. Arguments for:
1. He put money into keeping it up.
2. He put time into keeping it up.
3. He was the only sib who expressed interested in it.
4. She said she wanted him to have it at her death.
Query: Do the other sibs acknowledge any of this? Were they present when she said "I want your husband to get it at my death?"
And so she put his name on the title, probably in Joint Tenancy form. You can see, however, that it is unclear what she actually intended, and your husband's sibs are now raising this issue, attempting to have the RV characterized as a probate asset, so it will fall into her estate & be divided among all the sibs, as her beneficiaries under her Will.
Assuming that the RV was put into Joint Tenancy form, the presumption will be that the Joint Tenancy form should be upheld, resulting in the RV passing to your husband as the surviving joint tenant. The sibs will have the burden of proof to show that this was not what she intended --- for example, that she really didn't realize what she was doing when she re-registered the RV; or that your husband prepared all the paperwork for the re-registration, and so it should be ignored due to your husband's undue influence over his frail & doddering mother; or that she put it in Joint Tenancy form "for convenience only," in order to avoid its probate; etc.
Your husband's sibs have an arguable case, and in situations like this, what often results is a negotiated settlement.
One alternative is to let the PR probate the RV and then for your husband to request a copy of the Inventory after 3 months following the PR's appointment. The RV should be listed there, and listed as a probate asset, ie, its joint tenancy form being ignored. Your husband could then file an objection with the Court, effectively asking the Court to determine the validity of the RV's being characterized as a probate asset, instead of upholding is Joint Tenancy form of title. For further information on this, see: E. Bond & Inventory & Appraisement Issues on:
http://www.wa-probate.com/Heirs-Beneficiaries/index.html
Another aspect to think about is: How important is it to your husband to maintain relations with his sibs? Is fighting about "who gets the RV" really worth the animous that will inevitably come from it? My very first Will Contest case involved a situation very similar to this. The daughter won the property but lost her sibs. Only she can know if it was worth the fight.
My best to you & your husband and the struggles that you are going through.
If questions remain, please ask.
Sincerely,
WA-Probate.com
