My brother died without a will can I contest who gets the family home as his sister or would it just go to his children
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My brother died without a will can I contest who gets the family home as his sister or would it just go to his children
My brother got the home we grew up in and he recently passed away with no will. He and his girlfriend were not married and her name is only on mortgage not deed, only my brother was on deed. Can I contest his children from getting house, can I in anyway take this house from his children?
Asked on July 18, 2019 under Estate Planning, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
When there is no will, a person's estate (what he leaves behind after his death) passes by what is known as "intestate succession." In the state you list in your question (Massachusetts), if someone is not married when he dies but has children, his children inherit everything. A sibling does not inherit when there are children and has no right to challenge the children's inheritance: that they inherit is the law. You have our sympathy, but if your brother wanted to keep the home in the family, he needed to will it to you.
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