Son Living in Condo Left in fathers will to Stepmother

[OceanGreen]

19 years ago my father purchased an apartment in Florida as a gift to me, he purchased the apartment in his name and told me he wanted to keep it that way for business reasons. he continued to pay all the upkeep and It has been in his name for 19 years, he sent me a copy of his will some years back, reading that upon his death my apartment was to be paid for and revert to me! But now upon his recent death I get a copy of a new will, stating that all his properties were left to his present wife, including my apartment! He does however state that I am to live in the apartment until my death! ...but with the wife owning it and paying all the expenses from his estate. My main concern now is do I have any legal rights in this situation? for instance, could she could somehow get around this will and try to evict me? ..or maybe just stop paying the bills until it went into foreclosure! ...All I have seen since his death, is the will, Any helpful advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated!

 

[justalayman]

The only possibility that i see offhand is if your father was not "of sound mind" the new will could be challenged. Have you had regular contact with your father? If not, since the will is dated, had you seen him around that time?

 

[OceanGreen]

The only possibility that i see offhand is if your father was not "of sound mind" the new will could be challenged. Have you had regular contact with your father? If not, since the will is dated, had you seen him around that time?

Yes I did have regular contact with him since that time! But isn't disputing a will usually a difficult process? I read on the internet it is almost never successful ...and if it is! usually only in the favor of a spouse.

 

[justalayman]

Disputing a will can be very difficult but if you want something other than what is written currently that is your only choice. So, incapacity to make a wil is one issue. Another would be undue influence. Of course the facts would have to fit the requirements of either of those means to challenge the will.

 

[Eva 14]

I have heard of that clause where a person is allowed to live in a house or apartment for the rest of their lives, while not outright owning the property. It is seen by some people as a 'middle ground' between the interests of one family member vs. another.

At least your father's new Will lets you live in the home for the rest of your life. Obviously getting the deeded property would be ideal and is what you expected, but I'm thinking that things could be worse. How well do you get along with your stepmother? For how long was she married to your dad?

I understand your fears about the possibility of your stepmother ceasing to make payments or to evict you. (I'm in a similar situation myself. My dad bought me a house as a gift 20 years ago, and then I found out that in his Will he had left shares of the house to both of my brothers to avoid the estate tax. One brother wants nothing, but the other brother is making my life Hell.)

I'm not a lawyer, but I think that the clause letting someone live in a house for life means that you do indeed get to live in the house for the rest of your life. You'd have to see an attorney to find out exactly what your rights are. Maybe your dad deeded all properties to your stepmother, but made sure to put in the clause that you can live in the apartment for the rest of your life as a way of protecting you?

Do you think for whatever reason your dad may have changed his mind about allowing you to inherit the property? When my dad bought me my house as a gift, he also used the excuse of 'business' and 'tax' reasons for not putting the house in my name. The house was a 'gift', but was always in my dad's name. A lot of parents want to retain control; hence, they never actually 'gift' the house to their child.

I think the clause is called 'lifetime occupancy'? So you wouldn't own the condo or be able to sell it, but at least you could live there for the rest of your life. Maybe your dad decided this would be best for you, in his mind? Some parents want to keep things complicated, even in death.

I guess the biggest concern would be figuring out just how much (if any) leeway your stepmother might have. Is your stepmother the sort of person who might deliberately try to sabotage your situation, or does she seem to be okay with you living in the condo? I would definitely see an attorney, just to determine what your rights are in this situation.

 

[OceanGreen]

Thank You EVA14 ...I really appreciate your knowledge on this issue, and you are absolutely right! I googled lifetime occupancy and there is a lot of legal Information on the subject, and it all sounds exactly like my situation.

 

[LdiJ]

Thank You EVA14 ...I really appreciate your knowledge on this issue, and you are absolutely right! I googled lifetime occupancy and there is a lot of legal Information on the subject, and it all sounds exactly like my situation.

Google "Lifetime Estate" and you will find even more.

 

[latigo]

The only possibility that i see offhand is if your father was not "of sound mind" the new will could be challenged. (?) . . . . .

Come now, justy.

The testator is fully conscious of owning the condominium; acknowledges that he begot an adult living son; that he has remarried. And devises a life estate in the condo to his son with remainder to his spouse. Plus, incorporates specific instructions to save the life tenant whole from the costs of maintaining the condo AND he is "possibly of unsound mind"?

[SUP]The illusionist "Criss Angel" couldn't make that unrealistic notion fly on a Vegas stage or in a courtroom![/SUP]

 

[LdiJ]

Come now, justy.

The testator is fully conscious of owning the condominium; acknowledges that he begot an adult living son; that he has remarried. And devises a life estate in the condo to his son with remainder to his spouse. Plus, incorporates specific instructions to save the life tenant whole from the costs of maintaining the condo AND he is "possibly of unsound mind"?

[SUP]The illusionist "Criss Angel" couldn't make that unrealistic notion fly on a Vegas stage or in a courtroom![/SUP]

There is one little thing that niggles at me about the whole thing. Unless we are talking about dad and stepmom being a May/December type of thing the odds of the son outliving the stepmom are pretty good. That does make the whole arrangement a bit illogical.

I wonder if the will addresses what happens if stepmom predeceases her stepson?

 

[justalayman]

There is one little thing that niggles at me about the whole thing. Unless we are talking about dad and stepmom being a May/December type of thing the odds of the son outliving the stepmom are pretty good. That does make the whole arrangement a bit illogical.

I wonder if the will addresses what happens if stepmom predeceases her stepson?

It is an asset of her estate so ownership will be controlled by the probate of her estate. Son will still be allowed to live there as dads will provides.

As to the statement wife is to maintain the property; that's a hard one even while she is alive if dad didn't do something like set up a trust for the maintenance. I suspect arguing about that before or after step moms death is going to be messy.

 

[Dandy Don]

Your father had the right to make a new will, if in fact he did that. If you have the old will, you need to take it to a probate attorney who has experience with contesting wills so he can advise you if you need to do anything else. If the old will and/or the new will was prepared without the assistance of an attorney, your father may not have known how to write the will properly to insure that you got what he wanted you to get. Contesting the will is going to be expensive litigation in attorney fees, so do not contest unless you can afford to do so.

 

[OceanGreen]

Your father had the right to make a new will, if in fact he did that. If you have the old will, you need to take it to a probate attorney who has experience with contesting wills so he can advise you if you need to do anything else. If the old will and/or the new will was prepared without the assistance of an attorney, your father may not have known how to write the will properly to insure that you got what he wanted you to get. Contesting the will is going to be expensive litigation in attorney fees, so do not contest unless you can afford to do so.

Is there any time limit on which you have to Contest a will?

 

[justalayman]

yes there is


from what I have found since it appears you lived out of state, you would have 6 months from the time the will is filed in probate.

only 4 months if you lived in NJ.