When a person dies without a will it is called “intestate.” There will a state law called the intestate succession law. It will say who is entitled to an interest in the estate.
The property will have to go through probate to properly change hands to the new owner.
If the pastor has himself appointed the personal representative for the estate, he would have the right, I would think, to initiate on the behalf of the estate an eviction action against the occupants.
This is a situation where a probate attorney is needed for advice and to probate the estate.
Posted by Karen Clark on July 17, 2003 at 22:07:39:
My Pastor’s mother recently died(approximately 2 weeks ago). She did not leave a will. He has one brother legally, but his mother help raised several children. They were never adopted legally. It seems his mother allowed them (the step-children) to live with her on and off for about 15 years. Now that his mother is deceased my pastor wants them to move out and of course they are refusing to move. 1) Do the step-children have any legal rights to live there? 2) Does his brother’s ex-wife have legal rights to stake a claim to the house? 3) Can my pastor start eviction proceedings and finally because there is no will is it necessary to go through probate court? The only names on the deed are my pastor’s deceased parents names. Any help you can give concerning this situation would be greatly appreciated.
As Ron Starr has already said, the Pastor or his Brother must get themselves appointed by Probate Court, as the executor of their Mother’s estate. Thsi should be a fairly simple process, after showing some affidavits that make claim to who the legal heirs are; such as “Of thsi marriage there were two natural children; John and Robert Doe”… etc. Of course they will need an Atty to accomplish this.
Once that is completed the rest should be fairl straight forward. The executor of the estate can then handle all affairs of the estate, such as evictions, etc. With proper notice the eviction should be a piece of cake. The children living in the house have no legal right to make any claim, unless they can produce evidence to that fact, such as a will or life estate that has been granted by the deceadent.
The brother’s ex-wife should have no claim to the property. Of course this is only my opinion and the services of a competent Probate Atty should be retained.