New wife living in house

[HALO56]

My father married a woman he met online. They dated off and on for about 1 year. They got married this pass Jan 09.They were married for 6 weeks when he suddenly passed. He never changed his will to include her in it. The house they were living in has been in my family for generations. My family knows that my grandfather wanted me to have the house and as such my Dad left me the house and all the contents. The question I have is, does she have live in rights? She has made no attempts to move out and has begun to make over the house.

 

[dee_dub]

What is your jurisdiction? And did your father make a new will after he was married? A will may be invalidated by marriage - if so your father might actually have died intestate. What his widow's rights are depend on the intestacy laws of your state.

If the will IS still valid, she could still try to convince a court that the will fails to adequately provide for her. She might be entitled to a life estate (the right to lve in the house for the remainder of her life) or some other remedy.

 

[HALO56]

We live in North Carolina. He did not make a new will. My sister got everything else, cars, life insurance policies, any money in the banks, etc. and she did not stop any of that. So if she was going to try to convince a court that the will fails to adequately provide for her, wouldn't she try to stop my sister also? She is just not moving out.

 

[dee_dub]

Why did your sister get "everything else"? Sounds like you have potential issues both with your sister and your father's wife. If your father didn't make a new will, it is quite possible he died intestate. You and your sister would probably be entitled to exactly equal shares of everything after the wife got whatever she was entitled to.

I suggest you consult with a local estates lawyer. You need to ascertain what the wife gets and apportion the rest between you and your sibling.

 

[HALO56]

I contacted a lawyer. Thanks for your help!

 

[HALO56]

Well, I'm back. I was just informed that the will was put in probate and the new wife wants to get a widows allowance. What is that? What does that involve?

 

[dee_dub]

I'm not familiar with NC law, but a widow's allowance is usually money paid out of the estate to support of the widow (or other family member as the case may be). She would need to prove something along the lines of he was the income-earner for the family and she was dependent on him for support. If she succeeds, she would be entitled to some award out of the estate - exactly what she might be entitled to depends on the size of the estate, her needs, etc.