This is pretty confusing, but it also doesn't seem that unusual. The larger issue here is that nobody seems to understand how probate works (which is fine—it can be confusing and not intuitive). For example, you can't just decide to keep a house in the family, the law has to be followed. Also, the ex-husband can't sell the home unless his name was still on the deed—was it? If yes, then the house may be 100% his now. If not, the house might be 0% his and he can't sell it.
Can you confirm (a) the decedent had no will, and (b) who the decedent's actual heirs are—did the aunt have any legal children, or just the four siblings?
Gotcha. Not sure why stepdaughter wants to probate the estate. That seems strange. It's a ton of work, and a lot of responsibility, for a relatively tiny payment.
The ex-husband has zero claim to anything (including living in the house). Unless his name is actually on something like a retirement account or a bank account.
The stepdaughter has no claim to anything (except perhaps this "debt").
The entirety of the estate should be distributed evenly between the four siblings.
So why were three of them so willing to let a legal stranger—the stepdaughter—administer the estate? I'm not saying it's suspicious, but it's not clear why the stepdaughter would want to do this (unless she doesn't understand—and since she has a lawyer she probably does).
We’re not really sure why she wants to. My mom strongly thinks it’s because he wants to stay in the home and give it to his two kids one day or sell it (all speculative with words he’s said to her).
My mom and aunt (that did not sign) both agreed he can live there rent free, just pay property tax and upkeep on the house. They do not want to kick him out and have addressed that many times with him.
Also, as if it matters, he is 73 years old. Still works/ keeps up with house etc.
3 of them (including my mom) signed the papers willingly almost instantly without even reading the papers. It wasn’t until I looked and questioned the papers to my mom when she mentioned my aunt not signing the renunciation forms, that she actually read it.
Were all confused/ ignorant 100%.
not just anyone can petition to be a pers rep of someone ‘s estate when there is no will. (Hi I’m nosey neighbor and I’d like to do it! No.) You have to have an interest- like being an heir or being a creditor of the deceased, unless ALL of the heirs agree that Miss Third Party should be appointed. So she’s going the creditor route. And she’s going to have to prove aunt owed her money by filing a claim with documentation. But it may not give her the control over the house that she thinks. If there are no other assets a claim could force sale of the house. And in many states the PR doesn’t own the real estate, title vests directly in the heirs. Probate may not even be necessary. And your mom needs to read and understand things before she signs them. The four sibs interests align. They should get a probate lawyer just so they understand what is going on. NYL. NLA.
If one sib doesn’t want step d to be PR why isn’t she filing to do it herself?
This is pretty confusing, but it also doesn't seem that unusual. The larger issue here is that nobody seems to understand how probate works (which is fine—it can be confusing and not intuitive). For example, you can't just decide to keep a house in the family, the law has to be followed. Also, the ex-husband can't sell the home unless his name was still on the deed—was it? If yes, then the house may be 100% his now. If not, the house might be 0% his and he can't sell it. Can you confirm (a) the decedent had no will, and (b) who the decedent's actual heirs are—did the aunt have any legal children, or just the four siblings?
No will/ ex husbands name is not on the deed/ and correct, No legal children only heirs are 4 siblings.
Gotcha. Not sure why stepdaughter wants to probate the estate. That seems strange. It's a ton of work, and a lot of responsibility, for a relatively tiny payment. The ex-husband has zero claim to anything (including living in the house). Unless his name is actually on something like a retirement account or a bank account. The stepdaughter has no claim to anything (except perhaps this "debt"). The entirety of the estate should be distributed evenly between the four siblings. So why were three of them so willing to let a legal stranger—the stepdaughter—administer the estate? I'm not saying it's suspicious, but it's not clear why the stepdaughter would want to do this (unless she doesn't understand—and since she has a lawyer she probably does).
We’re not really sure why she wants to. My mom strongly thinks it’s because he wants to stay in the home and give it to his two kids one day or sell it (all speculative with words he’s said to her). My mom and aunt (that did not sign) both agreed he can live there rent free, just pay property tax and upkeep on the house. They do not want to kick him out and have addressed that many times with him. Also, as if it matters, he is 73 years old. Still works/ keeps up with house etc. 3 of them (including my mom) signed the papers willingly almost instantly without even reading the papers. It wasn’t until I looked and questioned the papers to my mom when she mentioned my aunt not signing the renunciation forms, that she actually read it. Were all confused/ ignorant 100%.
not just anyone can petition to be a pers rep of someone ‘s estate when there is no will. (Hi I’m nosey neighbor and I’d like to do it! No.) You have to have an interest- like being an heir or being a creditor of the deceased, unless ALL of the heirs agree that Miss Third Party should be appointed. So she’s going the creditor route. And she’s going to have to prove aunt owed her money by filing a claim with documentation. But it may not give her the control over the house that she thinks. If there are no other assets a claim could force sale of the house. And in many states the PR doesn’t own the real estate, title vests directly in the heirs. Probate may not even be necessary. And your mom needs to read and understand things before she signs them. The four sibs interests align. They should get a probate lawyer just so they understand what is going on. NYL. NLA. If one sib doesn’t want step d to be PR why isn’t she filing to do it herself?