If the owner of land dies but has a wife and 3 adult children, do they split the land 4 ways?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If the owner of land dies but has a wife and 3 adult children, do they split the land 4 ways?
However since the father’s death the wife has had land re-deeded in her name. She had
stated that she wants to sell it. Do the adult children heirs have any legal standing?
Asked on December 27, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If there was a will, the land goes to whomever the will said it did.
If there was in will, in Mississippi, the land would go to the spouse and the children in equal shares, UNLESS, it had been owned by the spouses as "joint tenants with right of survivorship," or JTROS, in which case it immediately and automatically became the wife's property solely as the surviving owner or joint tenant. But if the land had been in his name only, it would go to her and the children. She and the children would each get an undivided 1/4 interest in the land--i.e. each becomes 1/4th owner of the whole thing. They could then agree (after the land becomes theirs, after probate) to physically split it; or they could sell it and split the proceeds; or some could buy out the others; etc.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.