Home Ownership Confusion

[LawyerWantToBe]

Jurisdiction

North Carolina

Hello,

Thank you for assisting me. I have a friend who was given the home that she lives in by her husband who passed away in 2008. He changed his will from giving the home to his daughter to giving it to his second wife (my friend). My friend never had the wil probated and now she is wondering if she has a legal right to the property or does it belong to the daughter. Another complexity is that the person who wrote up the will for her husband was not an attorney and did not sign the will.

If anyone has any suggestions on how best to pursue this I would truly appreciate your advice.

Thank you,

 

[doucar]

Hello,

Thank you for assisting me. I have a friend who was given the home that she lives in by her husband who passed away in 2008. He changed his will from giving the home to his daughter to giving it to his second wife (my friend). My friend never had the wil probated and now she is wondering if she has a legal right to the property or does it belong to the daughter. Another complexity is that the person who wrote up the will for her husband was not an attorney and did not sign the will.

If anyone has any suggestions on how best to pursue this I would truly appreciate your advice.

Thank you,

Since the will was not probated the wife does not own the house. If the daughter probated the earlier will, she may own the house. She needs to talk to a probate attorney ASAP

 

[adjusterjack]

Another complexity is that the person who wrote up the will for her husband was not an attorney and did not sign the will.

North Carolina requires that a will be signed by the testator and have two witnesses to him signing.

An alternative is a holographic will that is entirely in the testator's handwriting with his signature.

If neither apply to your friend then it's likely that the first will is valid and the house belongs to the daughter.

Your friend needs a lawyer.

 

[zddoodah]

I have a friend who was given the home that she lives in by her husband who passed away in 2008. He changed his will from giving the home to his daughter to giving it to his second wife (my friend). My friend never had the wil probated and now she is wondering if she has a legal right to the property or does it belong to the daughter.

Based on what you've written here, her long-deceased husband is the owner of record, which means that his estate owns the property.

Another complexity is that the person who wrote up the will for her husband was not an attorney and did not sign the will.

That raises some other potential issues, but the fact that "the person who wrote up the will . . . did not sign the will" is meaningless. Under North Carolina law, a will must generally have been signed by two disinterested witnesses in front of a notary. Was that done? If not, the failure to follow the formalities does not necessarily invalidate the will, but the process of proving the will will be more complicated and expensive.

Also, you said that, before his death, your friend's husband "changed his will from giving the home to his daughter." That implies that there was a prior will that left the home to the daughter. Is that what you intended to imply?

If anyone has any suggestions on how best to pursue this I would truly appreciate your advice.

Your friend should do now what she should have done 15 years ago: take the will and any other relevant documents to an estate attorney and obtain advice.