need help with a legal question.

[liptagirl]

sorry about the non exercise question but I need some information on a home left to my mother in law.

my husbands dad died in 1996 and left lifetime rights to my husbands stepmother. the house is in my husbands and his sisters name. Well after the stepmother has been in a rest home for two years and is never coming out,her daughter from her first marriage is wanting to rent the house out to a family instead of just turning it over to my husband and his sister. does lifetime rights give her the right to rent it out? and doesn't lifetime rights mean she would have to live in it? she is never coming out of the rest home.


I really don't want my husband to get taken advantaged of. if there is anyone who knows anything on this, it would be greatly appreciated.


thanks

liptagirl

 

[RapidBreath]

The attorney who handled your father in laws' estate can answer these questions.

 

[mackenzie]

sorry about the non exercise question but I need some information on a home left to my mother in law.

my husbands dad died in 1996 and left lifetime rights to my husbands stepmother. the house is in my husbands and his sisters name. Well after the stepmother has been in a rest home for two years and is never coming out,her daughter from her first marriage is wanting to rent the house out to a family instead of just turning it over to my husband and his sister. does lifetime rights give her the right to rent it out? and doesn't lifetime rights mean she would have to live in it? she is never coming out of the rest home.


I really don't want my husband to get taken advantaged of. if there is anyone who knows anything on this, it would be greatly appreciated.


thanks

liptagirl

Is their specific language in the will pertaining to the life estate? If a life estate is left to an individual and that individual goes in to a nursing home, a family member of that individual does not have the right to rent the property out. The will should specifically say what happens to the property when that individual no longer occupies the property.

 

[JT]

I would contact a family or real estate attorney but the names on the deed should prevail. In banking/finance, a loan agreement would prevail over divorce agreements since it was done prior to the divorce.

 

[nancy324]

Although I have no idea which state law we are talking about, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that if your MIL has a life estate in the property, there is probably a will and that will was probably probated. So, as Mackenzie said, you are probably going to want to see a copy of that Will, which likely governs what happens with the property.

The owner of the life estate may very well have the power to rent out the property, and her daughter may be handling that for her as her attorney-in-fact. The owner of a life estate in property generally has the same powers of any other property owner, with the only difference being that her power over the property ends at her death.

HTH!

sorry about the non exercise question but I need some information on a home left to my mother in law.

my husbands dad died in 1996 and left lifetime rights to my husbands stepmother. the house is in my husbands and his sisters name. Well after the stepmother has been in a rest home for two years and is never coming out,her daughter from her first marriage is wanting to rent the house out to a family instead of just turning it over to my husband and his sister. does lifetime rights give her the right to rent it out? and doesn't lifetime rights mean she would have to live in it? she is never coming out of the rest home.


I really don't want my husband to get taken advantaged of. if there is anyone who knows anything on this, it would be greatly appreciated.


thanks

liptagirl

 

[JT]

Thanks, Nancy. Learn something new everyday.

 

[ricklyk1]

Although I have no idea which state law we are talking about, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that if your MIL has a life estate in the property, there is probably a will and that will was probably probated. So, as Mackenzie said, you are probably going to want to see a copy of that Will, which likely governs what happens with the property.

The owner of the life estate may very well have the power to rent out the property, and her daughter may be handling that for her as her attorney-in-fact. The owner of a life estate in property generally has the same powers of any other property owner, with the only difference being that her power over the property ends at her death.

HTH!

I agree with Nancy. The powers afforded the holder of the life estate may vary depending on the terms of the will (some wills set out specific powers and rights, other does not) and the laws of the governing state. I would definitely try to speak to the attorney who handled your FIL's estate and, if he or she is not available, another attorney competent in probate/wills/real estate. HTH and good luck! Katie