Do I Have Any Rights to Property

My question involves estate proceedings in the state of: NC

My father left his wife and 3 kids back in 68, ran away with my mother, stayed with us 3 months, wrote letters back home during that time telling how he was signing a POA over to his scorned and demanding wife so she could have all his property. He then went back home after the 3 months to her. She did sign his property over to herself with those POAs. I have the original berth cert with his name and my foot print on it. I have letters he wrote acknowldging me and telling of the signing of the POAs. I look like him so I would pass DAN if that mattered. He never supported me, that family never treated me well, I was raised by mother nicely. Never got SS bennies or support from him.

He died in 1980 at my age of 12. I do not know if he had a will, but since she supposedly had it all in her name and he was with her anyway, I assumed it all was hers to do like she wanted. My half brotherdied in 2000, leaving just 2 half sisters. The widow is about to die any day now. I was always told I had no rights since since his widow owned it all and could do as she liked. A half sister recently contacted my mother and said she heard I was consulting a attorney and wanted to know if I had, which I havent been other than asking one I work with what he thought, which was I had no chance. I was always told I had no grounds. I started wondering why is my half sister even worried as my fathers wife can do as she likes with her will and leave me zilch. I went to the county tax records. I see where she has gave each of my sisters a chunk of land and a house already in their names now 100k range each. I see where the widow has the homestead 38 acres around 200k tax value in her name. I then Notice on the widows tax bill.....one peice of property with a old country store on it. 1.5 acres valued at 70k range tax value STILL IN MY FATHERS NAME, not hers.
So, I am wondering is that what they are worried about. Do I have a right to contest her will now and say that was my fathers as it is still in his name, and I have a right to it. Do I just have a 1/3 right to it or full rights since thats all I get. help me please. Thanks.

Quote:

---

. Do I have a right to contest her will

---

no. You have no relationship with her so no standing to contest her will.

Quote:

---

Do I just have a 1/3 right to it or full rights since thats all I get.

---

you don't even know if he had a will. It may be that the title was never transferred to his wife's name even though it was legally given to her.

Then again, you might have claim to a share of your fathers estate.

You need to address this with a lawyer that can investigate your specific situation.You need to find out if your fathers estate was probated; if it is too late to do so now if it wasn't; and if it is too late to contest it if it was.

Basically, looks like the 1.5 acres and 70 value never went to her name as it wa in my fathers and grand fathers names. when she dies maybe I have right to a 3rd?

how do you get 1/3?

and it wouldn't have anything to do with her dying. If you have any rights to it, you have them right now.

me and 2 sisters are only kids left. Maybe I do have a right to get my interest now. Like maybe the buy me out? I will ask a attorney I guess.

Quote:

---

sevenedge;429020]me and 2 sisters, only heirs left. I may have rights now. i will see how that is handled I guess.

---

If his estate was intestate, his wife would have been entitled to her share of the property. In some states that is all of the interest. In some, 50%, in others, less. Then, the children typically share the remainder so if the wife was entitled to 50%, then you would have rights to 1/2 of the remaining 1/2 which equals 1/6 of the total. If the property is now worth 70k, that would be around $11k BUT your fathers estate expenses and debts would be taken from the estate first. Depending on how things went, his estate might have actually been in debt at his time of death.

Quote:

---

Maybe I do have a right to get my interest now.

---

if you have any rights, you have them now. You had them at the time of your fathers death. You accrued no additional rights or interest since then and the wifes death will give you nothing more either.

Quote:

---

I will ask a attorney I guess.

---

that is about the only way you can get a reasonably accurate answer.

The widow is dieing anytime now. he had no debts. The widows prop from him in her name now is worth 200k, she already gave out 100k each prop to my 2 sisters.

Quote:

---

Quoting sevenedge

---

The widow is dieing anytime now. he had no debts. The widows prop from him in her name now is worth 200k, she already gave out 100k each prop to my 2 sisters.

---

None of that is relevant.

Quote:

---

Quoting sevenedge

---

The widow is dieing anytime now. he had no debts. The widows prop from him in her name now is worth 200k, she already gave out 100k each prop to my 2 sisters.

---

How do you know he didn't have any debts? You don't know if he had a will even so I would doubt you would be privy to his private financial information.

So that property magically increased in value from $70k to $200k in a couple hours?

Quote:

---

.one peice of property with a old country store on it. 1.5 acres valued at 70k range tax value STILL IN MY FATHERS NAME,

---

speak with an attorney that can review all of the facts and give you an opinion. There are way too many possibilities to even try to figure out anything on an internet forum.

I am looking at the tax cards. Each daughter has land in the 100k range already deeded to them that was once part of the wholke tract. The remaining 38 acres that is in the widows name is valued at 200k on the tax card. The 1.5 acre country stor with the 70k tax card value is is the name of my father and grandfather. Back before his death all this land was together and not split up, cept the 1.5 acre store peice was always separate, I guess because for some reason she could never place it in her name like she did all the rest before she divvied it up.
Far as being in debt, i know right much about the family. They were fairly simply country people and the land was all handed down, so i doubt he had debts that aren't paid.
I work with a Title search type attorney that gives some good advice and can forward me to the right attorney monday if I do have a case. I spent the last 30 years thinking I never did before checking that tax card and seeing that one peice the store not in the widows name. I will get deeper into it.

if the titles of the other property was transferred before your fathers death, the only property you might have a partial claim to is the 1.5 acre $70k valued property. No other land transfers make any difference. They were the wifes and that is all there is to it.

OK, after further research, it seems nothing is in my fathers name. it was all transferred to his wife back in 68. From that angle I have no rights. Here is the last angle.

He signed over a power of attorney to her back in 68. I am being told by a attorney that it may not havee been legal for her to have transferred to her own interest from him in the POA form back in 68. It could be that all the transactions she did after that were not 100% right since she did it that way. these days you can transfer it that way, but it is a little precarious and back in 68 it wasn't the same.

My attorney is going to look into some of the deed work on those transactions and see how it was handled. If her transferring that land to her wasn't correctly done since she had POA on him, it could make me have a claim to all of the things she did it with. He didn't say likely, but possible. If she did sign that stuff over to herself incorrecly, how would the other buyers of her property get clear title when they purchased from her after my fathers death in 80? thoughts please.

I don't know what your lawyer is speaking of with having different rights as the agent of a POA but if he has some idea for you, have at it. It's your money, not mine.

and best of luck doing anything about it now, 42 years later with your father deceased.


Your father lived with his wife and presumably was aware of the transfers. If he failed to take any action then, he accepted the transfer. As such, he effectively confirmed her actions as acceptable to him. Due to that, you would not be able to affect the transfers.

JK, thanks for what you offer. Just so I can clarify a little as to my mindset.

My father was shot in the head before my birth, and was a little mental incompaciated his last few years hence him having me out of wedlock, siging his stuff over when he didn't have to, and also why he probably didn't have a will.

As far as why I waited 42 years. I was never even told about the man till I was 12. I was always raised very well, so I was always told to leave well enough alone. When I got to my 20's and wanted to know more what I had a right to, I was always told she had it all in her name and give up.

5 years ago, I was told by a friend that my 2 half sisters were gonna shut me out if I didn't act before the widow died. I ignored that. This weekend a sister contacted my mother to ask If i had a attorney. I am now suspicious more than ever that thye know something I don't. They even do, or they are stupic for worrying. probably the latter.

I forwarded 7 tax parcel info peices to my attorney today and he is gonna check into them this week, so I then will have more insight.

Thanks JK for being the one person to try to give me info here.

After she dies, her Last Will and Testament (if any) will be filed with the court. At that point you can examine it. You should be able to find and examine your father's will (if any) now. I don't know whether it's possible for her will to contain provisions which depend on actions you take before her death. But usually when people claim they are going to "shut out" some other relative, the people making that claim don't know anything about inheritance law.

Your father may have died with no debts, but that doesn't mean his estate had no debts. For example, the estate normally pays for the funeral, final medical expenses, legal and accounting costs associated with probating the estate, etc. So if he had few assets to probate, the estate could still end up in the red.

Edward