What type of lawyer am I looking for?

A friend and her husband bought their house from his grandmother. There was no mortgage, grandma was holding the note. It's about 2/3s paid for now. The husband passed three years ago, granny passed a month ago. An uncle told her since her name wasn't on the agreement she now needs to pay him current FMV or leave. Would she be better off with an estate attorney or real estate attorney to find out her rights. In addition to making payments she's invested in numerous upgrades and repairs which he's included in the new higher price.  I feel like if she's not entitled to continue with the original agreement for some reason that she should get back some of what she's put into the property. 

Archie Bunker knew a thing or two about lawyers.  Watch some relevant youtube vids, and make your decision. 

I have no helpful input, but this is a perfect example of why I flat refused to buy my grandparents place. Family deals get nasty. Best of luck to your friend, but even if they get made whole financially there will still be bad blood and rough relationships. 

I would start with an estate attorney. There should have been probate opened when her husband passed. I would think the structure of the deal would be dealt with in probate.

So who is this uncle in this story?  Friend and Husband (lets call them the smiths) had an unwritten verbal agreement with grandma?  Smith husband and grandma died so mrs smith is left paying on this house which she already had been for some time?  I just don't get where this uncle comes into play and why he believes he's entitled the money.

jgrewe said:

I would start with an estate attorney. There should have been probate opened when her husband passed. I would think the structure of the deal would be dealt with in probate.

Agreed.  At least as a starting point.  After that the estate lawyer can recommend which way to go.

I'm guessing the uncle inherited grandma's estate, which included the house deed.

In reply to maschinenbau :

I'd like to see in writing in grandmas will that the uncle gets the house.  Otherwise, mrs smith could make a case saying she's lived there for years, prove she paid on the house, put money into it, etc.  that would likely require a lot of laywers and arbitration though.  Sounds like the uncle is just being greedy and capitalizing on grandmas death

In reply to camopaint0707 :

There is a written agreement, signed by the husband and grandmother. The uncle is the husband's. His thought is that since both parties are passed it's no longer valid. 

Thanks, we'll be starting with an estate attorney. There was no probate started at the time as he didn't own anything, the house was the onky thing in his name so she didn't know that she should. 

Wally (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to camopaint0707 :

There is a written agreement, signed by the husband and grandmother. The uncle is the husband's. His thought is that since both parties are passed it's no longer valid. 

... that's not the dumbest thing I've heard, but it might be the dumbest today.

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

godddd, imagine if that is how it worked lol.  Uncle is gonna be in for a world of issues if that is his thought process.  You'll likely need an estate lawyer if uncle isn't gonna play ball.  But if you've got a genuiene written agreement an arbitrator is gonna show that to a judge and it's gonna be fairly clean and dry.  

Aside from getting free money, how is the Uncle involved?  If he is the Executor, talk to that firm.

My father passed two years ago and Mom about 6 months ago.  No issues, no quirks, cut & dried; still will take until June or July to settle things.

i hope your friend and her husband were writing checks to Grandma, because your friend is going to need a paper trail.

i would start with an estate attorney.  get a berkeleying pit bull of an attorney, someone who deals with contested wills and all that E36 M3.

Wally (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to camopaint0707 :

His thought is that since both parties are passed it's no longer valid. 

that's retarded.

camopaint0707 said:

In reply to maschinenbau :

I'd like to see in writing in grandmas will that the uncle gets the house.  Otherwise, mrs smith could make a case saying she's lived there for years, prove she paid on the house, put money into it, etc.  that would likely require a lot of laywers and arbitration though.  Sounds like the uncle is just being greedy and capitalizing on grandmas death

disclaimer: not an estate attorney.  did not stay at holiday inn express last night.

if i'm following the family tree correctly, the uncle in this story is the son of grandma, so IIRC he's in the inheritance chain unless specifically excluded by a will.  the friend is family by marriage, not by blood, so again IIRC she is not in the inheritance chain unless specifically included by a will.

jgrewe said:

I would start with an estate attorney. There should have been probate opened when her husband passed. I would think the structure of the deal would be dealt with in probate.

If the uncle is the executor and really is money grubbing, this could bite him in the ass. Probate is complicated enough when there are no money disputes; litigation can make it a living hell for the executor. Lawyers have a way of observing how much money in is on the table and tailoring their task to bill for most of it. 

NOHOME said:

Lawyers have a way of observing how much money in is on the table and tailoring their task to bill for most of it. 

QFT

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

In many states, if a will is absent, a spouse's property automatically defaults to the surviving spouse first, then possibly on to other relatives.  Ask me how I know.

In this case it works to your friend's advantage, and against the douchebag uncle.  Hopefully the state in question follows this.

The curious side of my persona would like to hear the Uncle's side of the story.

what state is the estate in?  because the laws of intestate succession vary by state.  I googled "intestate succession New York" and found this, and it includes a statement about grandchildren, written from the perspective of "If YOU die without a will..."

• Grandchildren. A grandchild will receive a share only if that grandchild's parent (your son or daughter) is not alive to receive his or her share. (N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 1-2.16 (2023).)

followed by this line:

This can be a tricky area of the law, so if you have questions about your relationship to your parent or child, get help from an experienced attorney.

strictly following the letter of this reference, your friend is not a grandchild because she married into the family.

being a pessimist, here's a hierarchy of how i think this could go, from worst to best:

• house gets sold, friend gets nothing.
• house gets sold, friend gets check for actual dollar amount paid in over the years.
• house gets sold, friend gets % of sale equal to how much she's paid in relative to agreed value at start of payments.
• house doesn't get sold, friend buys from estate for $ she still owes on note to husband's grandma.

Duke said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

In many states, if a will is absent, a spouse's property automatically defaults to the surviving spouse first, then possibly on to other relatives.  Ask me how I know.

In this case it works to your friend's advantage, and against the douchebag uncle.  Hopefully the state in question follows this.

so the question in that situation is "the house is the property of whom?"  does it still belong to grandma (rem: grandpa is dead), because the note isn't fully paid? does it belong to wally's friend, who is grandchild by marriage (not a blood relative of grandma) and has been paying a note to grandma for it?

it's gonna come down to how the written note is worded, and what the attorneys can do with it.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

On that, we are agreed.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

pretty much, grandmas will is a critical piece of information we need in the story too.

Did the written agreement between husband and grandma have only terms for repayment of the loan, or did it imply transfer of ownership of the real property?

If the note said it would transfer ownership, the wife may have inherited the husband's right to purchase the property (as long as the note is paid correctly)

AC nailed it. Uncle is retarded. You need an estate attorney.