Who owns the property?

[booie34]

My Mom and Dad purchased real property in 1967 where they had lived the 23 years of their marriage.this property is in the state of N.Y.,where they are both life long residents.
In 1980 they were in the process of building a new home ,which was being built on the said property.The basement was complete and all the lumber to be used was stacked and ready for the new construction.
In the meantime ,Dad was having an affair which soon dwindled the marriage into divorce court.In 1983 Mom and Dad were Divorced.In the divorce decree everything had been settled ,with the exception of the real property which they posesessed "tenants by the entirety"There was a stipulation in the decree that both parties agree to keep it as it was.
After the divorce either Mom nor Dad occupied the property, until Dad resumed construction on the house.Mom contacted her divorce attorney and questioned her interest in the property and was told to hold tight,anything Dad was doing to improve the property would up the value of it.which would be an advantage to both .Dad finished the house and he and his girlfriend moved into it and shortly after, were married.Dad had a couple of times made Mom offers on the property,but were so ridiculous Mom declined.
In 1997 Dad had been diagnosed with Luekemia and four weeks of struggling to conquer his illness,Dad had passed away.Dad died with no will.
3 years later, Dad's estate has not yet been settled.My stepmother has been trying everything in her power to get to keep this property and now has taken action to sue my Mom both singley and as administrex of the estate.She is suing for adverse possession.
The questions I have are..Does operation of law automatically convert ownership to "tenants in common" or would the stipulation in the divorce decree remain as "tenants by the entirety"?Another question is..Did Mom harm her chances of getting what was lawfully hers by "holding tight"?
Any information or advice I can get would be greatly appreciated as I'd love to see Mom with a little happiness as she gave Dad the opportunity to live his life to it's fullest,and i appreciate that she did,I just don't want to see her chance being cut short.

Thank you in advance!
I hope I didn't leave out any valuable info.

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

This question depends on a number of factors. It is not adverse possession by any means. So don't go there.

As to tenants by the entirety and tenants in common, if they didn't sell the house, or deed over to anyone else, it will still be tenats by the entirety unless divorce in your state operates to automatically change that to tenants in common. However way you put, your dad's side is entitled to reimbursement of the improvements he made, but your mom is entitled to a portion of that house == probably number of years married, amount she invested, etc.

You need to speak with an estate planning attorney ASAP to help get this squared away so it DOESN'T fall into the hands of the step-mom.