In Puerto Rico a woman left her home to her daughter. even though she was married. No one knew about the marriage. Just her name was on the deed.
She recently passed away, and the daughter took possession of the house.
But the judge declared the still house belongs to the husband, which is her step father. Even though his name is not on the deed?
Ever hear of this happening ????

It depends on whether there was a will and what it says. From what I read, it looks like a spouse can't be disinherited. So if the house was the only asset of the estate it is possible the will could have been disallowed.

Inheritance laws in PR follow the Spanish legal system, not the English one.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

It depends on whether there was a will and what it says. From what I read, it looks like a spouse can't be disinherited. So if the house was the only asset of the estate it is possible the will could have been disallowed.

Inheritance laws in PR follow the Spanish legal system, not the English one.

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Very interesting. There was no will.

If there was no will then how can you say the house was left to the daughter? If she dies intestate then the estate is divided according to the laws of PR. So it makes perfect sense for the father to get the house.

I think the woman before she passed on, added the daughter to the deed.

If she added the daughter to the deed, then the house may pass outside the estate. This is not something you can "think", you need to know the facts.

If a court awarded the husband the house then it probably felt that was what was within the law.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

If she added the daughter to the deed, then the house may pass outside the estate. This is not something you can "think", you need to know the facts.

If a court awarded the husband the house then it probably felt that was what was within the law.

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Thanks sound legitimate reasoning