Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Alabama

My father-in-law died without a will. My husband is the oldest son of two. His brother has always lived (or mooched) off of the parents. He is now in the family house but is not working. Would it be right to divide the property, etc. and move him out?


Asked on 2/03/12, 2:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Dean Stein Harville-Stein Law Offices, LLC

Would it be "right" is a moral question. We can only give legal answers and apply them with a good sense of morality. A Judge who now sits on the Alabama Supreme Court once said in open court in a probate hearing "there is no do-good clause in the law". This means, that at the death of your father-in-law, who had no will, and I assume no surviving spouse, his children became entitled to his probate assets, share and share alike. This is without regard to "who dad loved most", "who took care of dad in his dying days" and "who the mooch of the family is". So, does your husband kick his brother out of the house in a probate proceeding and move to "share and share alike" everything with all siblings? That is the part he must decide. -Dean.

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Answered on 6/16/12, 2:23 pm


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