Aunt passes away with no will
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Aunt passes away with no will
My aunt passes away and she has no will. Her name and her sons name are on the
title deed. Are her 2 daughters entitled to a 1/3 of the house?
Asked on September 11, 2019 under Estate Planning, Minnesota
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There are two ways she and her son could have been on the house's title:
1) If they were "joint tenants with right of survivorship," then when one of them (e.g. the aunt) passes away, the other surviving "joint tenant" (her son) instantly and automatically becomes the sole owner, without the house going through probate or becoming part of her estate. The daughters get nothing.
2) If there "tenants in common" each had a separate 50% interest in the house. He keeps his 50%; her 50% will be inherited according to the rules for "intestate succession" (who gets what when there is no will), which means her 50% is evenly shared among her three children, each getting 1/3 of her 1/3 or 1/6. The son will end up with 4/6 of the home (1/2 + 1/6); each daughter gets 1/6.
So they need to check the title and how the home was owned.
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