Terrence Horan/MarketWatch pricey Moneyologist,
My brothers and i are mentioned in our father’s will as what he “needs to occur” with the house he purchased for his second wife. He put the home in her name, however mentioned that if he will have to die first, he would like the wife to are living in the home till she dies, but wished the home to be bought and the proceeds to be break up amongst his children.
After he died, my stepmother has offered the home for $ 1 million. She bought a new home for $ 500,000 and saved the variation. She has no longer put all the youngsters on the ownership of the brand new house. additionally, she has youngsters from her first marriage who would possibly need a percentage of the estate, together with the brand new home. the desire used to be made in Taiwan. I reside in Texas.
the place do I and my brothers stand on this situation?
Betrayed Daughter
pricey Daughter,
relating to family drama, stepmothers fare about as well as mothers-in-law. that’s, they get a troublesome time. infrequently, it’s deserved, different times i feel they fall victim to negative stereotypes. in a single case, the stepmother needed to chop her husband’s children out of his life insurance plans. And any other stepmother obsessed over her husband’s children and what would possibly occur to his credit score ranking will have to he die. It’s straightforward to return down arduous on stepmothers, largely on account of Grimm Fairytales. This 2009 guide “Stepmonster: a new take a look at Why actual Stepmothers think, feel, and Act the way in which We Do” tries to debunk that fantasy. On this party, the jury is out.
Your father can’t go away his kids something that he no longer owns. That’s not how existence or the legislation works.
Your stepmother has downsized and created a nice nest egg. That was her prerogative. Your father can’t leave his kids one thing that he not owns. He put his home on your stepmother’s name and, judging by means of his will, it appears he needed her to offer it again. That’s not how existence or the legislation works. If it’s good to prove undue influence, you could have a case. you can need to provide proof that (a) your father used to be no longer of sound thoughts when he signed over the home and/or (b) your stepmother someway didn’t have his absolute best interests at heart and tricked him into signing over the house. that will be an expensive and troublesome process.
pay attention: Frances Stroh — Memoir of a Brewery Heiress (and subscribe to the “cash, Markets and more” podcast on iTunes)
It’s still uncertain whether or not U.S. or Taiwanese legislation would practice here. in keeping with Taiwanese regulation, “The making and impact of a will are ruled with the aid of the national law of the testator [your father, in this case] on the time of the making of the desire.” but that may prove fruitless. “If which you can prove that the testator used to be the real owner, you could file a litigation in opposition to your father’s 2nd spouse,” says Ou Yang, Hung, managing attorney at brain belief global legislation agency in Taipei, Taiwan and adjunct assistant professor of regulation at Soochow university. “it’ll be very hard to prove that the testator was the authentic owner of the house.”
Put it in more practical terms: you may have to kiss that $ 1 million goodbye.
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