I married and divorced years ago all in a short matter of time,Divorced in 1973.. However, I continued to live with my ex- husband as husband and wife for a total of 40 years at the same address.. He found out that he was sick in early to mid 2005. I continued to be with him and take care of him solely until his passing on 12/ 25/ 2006. He told me during his illness that he would be leaving the home of 40 years to his son but had his son promise to let me remain in the home until my passing.. Trusting that his son would abide by his wishes, he did not put this in writing. His son did allow me to remain in the home for 3 1/2 years after my ex-husband's passing but decided on July 1st, 2010 that he would give me a 30 day notice to vacate the property.. I am 77 years old and have been diagnosed with Alzheimers and am now being kicked out of the only home I have known for 40 years.. Do I have any squatters rights to the home at all? Please help me...

My own father did something very similar that your son is doing. My grandfather died and his second wife was living in the home. My father had her kicked out of the house instead of letting her live there until her passing. And they were married at the time of his demise. There are no squatters rights in Florida or anywhere else. Sorry. Your son is jerk but what he is doing is legal.

You only got a notice to vacate. Wait until a Judge orders you to vacate.

First of course you are not a squatter, since the owner of the property knew you were there and you were living under a verbal agreement.

You could have course fight the eviction based on verbal contract to live there to your death, but this should have been done in a will and in the deed of the property

The one thing that comes to my mind that may be too late also,
Since you divorced 40 years ago and lived as man and wife, did Fla have or reconise "common law marriage" 40 years ago.

If they did, that may have been a challenge in probate court on the will

Hello r:

I'll bet you CAN beat this louse. But you can't do it without a lawyer. I'll bet you can find a free one through your church, or your city. Please look. Make some phone calls. If what Fr. Chuck said is true, you WILL own the house, so even if you can't find a free one, an attorney should take your case on a contingency basis. That means you don't pay if you don't win. Hurry. You don't have a moment to waste.

excon

According to Florida's own code about common law marriages - yes, they would recognize yours, since your relationship lasted that long. Common law marriages were recognized in Florida until January 1, 1968. On that date, a statute abolished common law marriages, but recognized common law marriages that had been entered prior to that date.

So please follow Fr. Chuck's and Excon's advice and get a lawyer. And good luck to you.

If you ex had a will and left the property to his son I think you aren't in a good position. At best you may own half of the property but tell us if your name ever appeared on the deed

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Originally Posted by bleusong52

According to Florida's own code about common law marriages - yes, they would recognize yours, since your relationship lasted that long. Common law marriages were recognized in Florida until January 1, 1968. On that date, a statute abolished common law marriages, but recognized common law marriages that had been entered prior to that date.

So please follow Fr. Chuck's and excon's advice and get a lawyer. And good luck to you.

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They started living common law AFTER 1973, when they were divorced. Florida's "own code" does not apply (unless I'm missing something here).

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Originally Posted by rollinhomie

I am 77 years old and have been diagnosed with Alzheimers and am now being kicked out of the only home I have known for 40 years. Please help me...

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As noted squatters rights don't exist here. Your partner made a big mistake by not putting the life estate in his will.

However, all is not lost here. The fact that the son let you continue to live in the house for 3 years is your strongest defense. It shows that there may have been instructions to allow you to stay.

So this is what I recommend. Tell the son you refuse to leave because his father had promised you a life estate. Do this in writing. This will force the son to go to court to evict you. If he does, this will mean a hearing where you can present your case to a judge (I advise getting a lawyer to represent you). It is my opinion that, given that the son let you stay for 3 years and given your medical condition which means you may not be able to live on your own much longer, that you will win and the eviction will be denied.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

... Tell the son you refuse to leave because his father had promised you a life estate. ...

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If I'm reading the OP correctly, that would be lying.

The son promised that she could live there for life. But such a promise doesn't constitute a promise to create a life estate. It constitutes a verbal "license"; and one with no consideration. I don't think it's enforceable.

I'm not so sure this is a losing case.

I'd wait until the son tried to evict. Then I'd get an attorney and I'd also call every newspaper in the area and let them know about what the son is trying to do.

If I lost the eviction case I'd request that the judge issue a hardship stay of eviction for at least 6 months.

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

If I'm reading the OP correctly, that would be lying.

The son promised that she could live there for life. But such a promise doesn't constitute a promise to create a life estate. It constitutes a verbal "license"; and one with no consideration. I don't think it's enforceable.

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OK, I used the wrong term. A life estate occurs when ownership is vested for the life of the estate holder and that's not the case here. I thought it would include usage, not just ownership. But the point is that she was promised she could remain in the house until she died. So if she words it that way she should be OK.

I agree with Lisa, I don't think there is much of a chance that a judge will grant this eviction given the facts as presented. I don't think the son will even pursue it if she calls his bluff.

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how about 6 years??

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It's possible that she can continue to request 6 month stays each time the prior one ends. :)