My question pertains to the estate of my father-in-law to which is to be divided amongst my mother-in-law (who was living as his common law partner for the past + 22 years), three of his sons from his first marriage, and my wife along with her sister (who are of no blood relation to the deceased, and are from my mother-in-law’s first marriage). The disbursements are as follows:
Mother-in-law = 50% of the estate (minus specific chattels, outlined below)
Total of 5 kids (Whom are actually all over the age of 30 and do not reside within the matrimonial home) = 50% divided by 5 equaling 10% each.
As many will’s indicate, he bequeathed all of his property of every nature to the estate trustee to allocate. The will was specific in allocating some specific chattels (ie: boat, tools, workshop contents, etc..). However, clarification is required if the residence would be considered a matrimonial home and if it is lawful for the trustee to sell the house while she is still living there. If so, she would likely have to move in with family as she does not have the capital to invest in another home until the estate is dispersed.
Clarification is also required to determine if the contents of the home were half his for the estate to liquefy into a cash asset, or if they are property of my mother-in-law since she still resides in the home and does (and will continue to) require these things to operate a home (ie: lawnmower, furniture, snow blower, pots and pans, etc.). In addition, a vehicle which is registered to the deceased also requires a new license sticker. This vehicle is what my mother-in-law uses on a daily basis and the executor (the deceased middle son) wishes to liquefy, leaving my mother-in-law without a vehicle.
Please advise on the interpretation of my mother-in-law’s rights within the matrimonial home along with the contents. Is the estate able to liquefy 50% of everything (with the exemption of the outlined chattels) or does she have some sort of entitlement since all of these assets were essentially acquired together over the past 22 years.
Sincerely,
The Son-in-law.