Dad passed but his stuff is still here

[the nikster]

My dad had 3 children from a previous marriage and my mom had 2. 5 in all when they got married in Idaho.
Dad passed away without a will, near as I can tell, they owned everything jointly.
One of my sisters has also passed leaving 3 children.
Mom wants to sell some land but my sister’s remaining children say she needs signatures from them in order to sell.
Could this be the case? It is not a big dust up yet and I would like to avoid one.
(any opinion shared will not be taken to infer legal advice).

 

[seeth07]

Unless a will said otherwise, his death should have left everything to your mom and only her.

Maybe however it's not the same in every state

 

[Addicting]

Grandkids have no rights. It’s all your moms, she can do as she wishes. Greedy kids can pound sand.

 

[Nick87]

Greedy kids can pound sand.

When my grandparents go, we're gonna see some real greedy grandkids I'm already dredding the day. But not to worry, they've probably already gone and somehow got them to put everything in there name already. I love it when people avoid getting a real job there entire life so they can wait til they're 40's to claim someone elses.

 

[perma]

Yeah this is exactly why I’m pushing my parents to create a will.

Pretty sure the grandkids have no say or leverage on getting a signature to sell land. Being related doesn’t necessarily make you the heir to the estate as long as there’s a surviving spouse.

 

[Nick87]

To the op sorry to hear about your dad passing.

 

[TheTone]

I wish I’d had the right as a grandchild to tell my grandparents not to sell a bunch of land.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Yup, ID is a community property state. Unless stipulated otherwise in a will it’s 100% all mom’s property.

 

[Bob-WY]

Easy question for an estate lawyer. All states are very different and things can get messy fast.

 

[WapitiBob]

Create a trust, way easy and eliminates all this stuff.

 

[Dan O]

I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy especially with those that feel entitled to something they don't deserve.

Contact an attorney that deals with estates. Get the needed legal advice and go from there. Your Mom does not need the stress of family drama. The quicker the better to protect your Mom.

 

[seeth07]

I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy especially with those that feel entitled to something they don't deserve.

Contact an attorney that deals with estates. Get the needed legal advice and go from there. Your Mom does not need the stress of family drama. The quicker the better to protect your Mom.

Sounds like no need for an attorney and his mom to just needs to have a heart to heart with her grandkids that they aren't entitled to anything right now.

 

[longbow51]

I fall soundly on the get an attorney and form a trust camp. Make sure you get one who is experienced in trusts. Avoid family feud.

 

[noharleyyet]

Gets messy when there's no probate filing. The he/she promised me this/thats are common. If the surviving spouse is amenable and the estate is enough to support your mom is one thing, if not, state's rights should prevail. Estate planning is important, and really not that complicated.

 

[Raisin Bran]

First & foremost, sorry for your loss!

I ditto the lawyer & Trust advice. Been in your shoes a couple of times and completely understand.

 

[Southern Elk]

Family can be the worst. My grandmother’s brother felt that he should get everything, because he was the only son. Luckily my my grandmother and her sister told him to go pound sand. I have since bought his share of the land from his widow.

 

[westbranch]

Did he own the property before the marriage? If so, it's possible it was separate property. If it was separate property it would split between wife and other heirs, which would include kids of deceased children.

 

[David658]

Here in CA dealing with the same topic, just a variation on the theme. Thankfully there is a will, both Ma and Pop are gone (Pop just passed). In a community property state, it all is still the survivor's. Easy peasy. But please convince her to get a will put together, best in a trust, and encourage her to make HER wishes clear before she passes. Also, it works very well in all the flurry of things that a trustworthy kid - the executor? - is mentioned as joint on all the accounts, which makes access much simpler upon her passing.

Pissing contests are not fun. It would be nice if all the heirs realized that they didn't buy it in the first place, it isn't theirs now, and when mom does pass everthing she leaves is a gift, not an entitlement. Sadly, not the case here.

David
NM

 

[BigHornRam]

Just went through this, this past year. Parents will was not the most clear, and had not been updated for many years. Some how I was appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate even though that was not my parents most recent directive. My brother's and sister were helpful and everything went smoothly, including selling my father's house in Florida from Montana. The probate attorney we hired was awful, and I'm glad we will never have to go through this again.

 

[buckbull]

My mom put all assets into an irrevocable trust. Couldn't have went smoother. I'm working with an attorney now to do the same thing.