* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Placer County town of Loomis considers entertainment zone for downtown – CBS News

    Loomis Unveils Thrilling New Entertainment Zone to Revitalize Downtown

    CT Culture Corner: Robert Redford films to watch – CT Insider

    CT Culture Corner: Robert Redford films to watch – CT Insider

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in Crop Top – Yahoo

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in a Chic Crop Top

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    How a Gemma model helped discover a new potential cancer therapy pathway – blog.google

    How a Gemma Model Revealed a Breakthrough Pathway for Cancer Treatment

    Italian Technology in Manufacturing: Supporting North American Industries and Keeping Production Local – Thomasnet

    How Italian Technology is Revolutionizing North American Manufacturing and Boosting Local Production

    Guide to Proteomics Project Planning: Sample Preparation Strategies – Technology Networks

    Guide to Proteomics Project Planning: Sample Preparation Strategies – Technology Networks

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Placer County town of Loomis considers entertainment zone for downtown – CBS News

    Loomis Unveils Thrilling New Entertainment Zone to Revitalize Downtown

    CT Culture Corner: Robert Redford films to watch – CT Insider

    CT Culture Corner: Robert Redford films to watch – CT Insider

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in Crop Top – Yahoo

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in a Chic Crop Top

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    How a Gemma model helped discover a new potential cancer therapy pathway – blog.google

    How a Gemma Model Revealed a Breakthrough Pathway for Cancer Treatment

    Italian Technology in Manufacturing: Supporting North American Industries and Keeping Production Local – Thomasnet

    How Italian Technology is Revolutionizing North American Manufacturing and Boosting Local Production

    Guide to Proteomics Project Planning: Sample Preparation Strategies – Technology Networks

    Guide to Proteomics Project Planning: Sample Preparation Strategies – Technology Networks

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

My mother’s late husband came with baggage — ‘his deadbeat son.’ Is she on the hook for his debts? Can she evict him from her home?

December 30, 2023
in Business
My mother’s late husband came with baggage — ‘his deadbeat son.’ Is she on the hook for his debts? Can she evict him from her home?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ten years ago, my mother married a wonderful man. Unfortunately, her husband came with some baggage — a deadbeat adult son in his mid-40s. Sadly, my mother’s husband passed away about a year ago, and his deadbeat son is still living in the home. 

He has big problems with alcohol, anxiety, and simply can’t hold a job for longer than a few months. He has lived with them — rent-free and utility-free — for the duration of the marriage. It is a classic “enabling” situation, and I’m not looking for advice or judgment on that.  

My mother and her husband bought a home in Massachusetts with a 50/50 split. Neither side of their family gets an inheritance until they both pass away, and my mom can live there for the rest of her life. 

I have two questions:

1. Can my mother legally evict her deadbeat stepson? She gave him a year of free rent and utilities after the passing of his father, which was more than fair. But he technically “owns” 12.5% of the home (he has three other siblings). He is flat broke, but recently got a job so it’s time for the enabling to end, and let him spread his wings or hit rock bottom.

2.  Two years before my mother’s husband passed away, he cosigned a car loan for the deadbeat son, a horrific financial mistake as the car is drastically underwater with a preposterous rate. The deadbeat son stopped paying the note on the car three months ago (shocker, I know). Does my mother, or the estate, “inherit” the loan? Or are we in the clear?

Again, I’m not looking for judgment, I’m just looking for advice and a path forward from this horrific example of enabling.

Brother-in-Law

“Did your stepfather leave a will? Did he leave the house to his wife with the intention of it then being split between his children? Or did the ownership of the home pass to your stepfather’s children upon his death?”

MarketWatch illustration

Dear Brother-in-Law,

I hope the Moneyist is a judgment-free zone, although I do on occasion highlight inequities or an imbalance of power in certain circumstances. I do feel it necessary to mention that you use the term “deadbeat” in your letter five times. Addiction is regarded as a disease by most professionals, but I understand that you are frustrated with your late stepfather’s son, and you also are — understandably — afraid that your mother will end up dealing with the problems that arise from his residency in her home, and from the debts for which his father co-signed. 

Your attorney will have lots of questions to answer: Did your stepfather leave a will? Did he leave the house to his wife with the intention of it then being split between his children? Or did the ownership of the home pass to your stepfather’s children upon his death? If they owned the home as “tenants by entirety,” your stepfather and mother each owned the home equally and, upon his death, your stepfather’s share would automatically pass to your mother. In that case, she would have more power to evict your stepbrother.

But there are other possibilities that would make it harder to evict your stepbrother from the family home. “If he died without a will and the deed was as ‘tenants in common’ with a 50% interest by both, then your mother should be entitled to the first $200,000 of the estate, plus two-thirds of the remainder of the estate, which would only include a 50% ownership interest in the house, as she would already have 50% ownership though the deed,” says Massachusetts-based attorney Gary Lees.

“She would then either have full ownership, in which case she could evict, or she would have partial majority ownership, in which case she could file a petition to partition and detail the use and occupancy expenses she incurred in allowing him to remain living there for the past year,” he says. “These expenses could act as an offset to his interest in the property. If there is still any remaining interest, she could ask the court to order her to buy out his remaining interest. Once she has full interest, she could then evict him.”

One-year grace period for creditors

There are other issues of timing. “Was a probate opened for his estate? In Massachusetts, creditors have one year to file a claim against an estate,” says Massachusetts-based attorney Nick Murray. “If there was a probate of the estate, and if the one-year period has passed, the lender cannot make a claim against the estate and the debt belongs solely to the decedent’s son and not to the estate. If the one-year period for creditors to file a claim has not yet passed, the lender could file a claim against the estate.”

Murray has another solution. Your mother buys out his interest in his father’s estate by paying off the car loan in full or in lump sums for the period left on the one-year probate creditor period. “Such an agreement, in writing, could potentially waive all claims of inheritance the son has against the estate in exchange for the payments to the lender and, after the one-year period has passed with an open probate, the remainder of the car-loan debt would be the sole responsibility of the son because the lender can no longer file a claim against the estate,” he adds.

I hope you all resolve this issue amicably, that your stepbrother gets the help that he needs, and that your mother is able to navigate this situation in a way that respects all parties involved. It sounds like your mother and stepfather did the best they could at the time, with the tools and knowledge they had of how to deal with an individual with substance-misuse issues and other mental-health issues. Each case is unique and now that your mother is alone in the family home, I agree that the time has come to take some kind of positive action.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aims to help families dealing with addiction issues. It offers advice on how to start a conversation with a loved one: “1. Identify an appropriate time and place. 2. Express concerns, and be direct. 3. Acknowledge their feelings and listen. 4. Offer to help. 5. Be patient.”

If you, or a family member, needs help with a mental or substance use disorder, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889, or text your zip code to 435748 (HELP4U), or use SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to get help. You can also find more resources and advice for families from SAMHSA here.

Here are other resources for people with family members who have addiction issues: The Center for Motivation and Change published this book, “Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change.” Dr. Robert Meyers, who has been working in the field of addiction for four decades, developed the CRAFT approach to encourage a family member to engage in treatment.

More from Quentin Fottrell:

My father has dementia and ‘forgave’ my brother’s $200,000 house loan. The nursing-home notary said he was of sound mind. What can we do?

My husband bought our house with an inheritance. I signed a quitclaim. He said I could live there after he dies, but changed his mind. What now?

Low-paying jobs are the economy’s way of saying you should get a better job’: I’ve decided to stop tipping, except at restaurants. Am I wrong?

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at [email protected], and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues. Readers write to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to the Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on the Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : MarketWatch – https://www.marketwatch.com/story/my-mothers-late-husband-came-with-baggage-his-deadbeat-son-is-she-on-the-hook-for-his-debts-can-she-evict-him-from-her-home-867b90c1?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Tags: businesshusbandmother’s
Previous Post

How a big, messy ‘cleanup’ in crypto could pave way for a more regulated, mature market in 2024

Next Post

Retirees struggling to stay afloat: How to keep health and economic issues from draining your savings

3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

October 21, 2025
This Week in Navy Sports Presented by Navy Federal Credit Union – Naval Academy Athletics

Thrilling Moments from This Week in Navy Sports

October 21, 2025
New Land Cruiser “FJ” Makes World Premiere – トヨタ自動車株式会社 公式企業サイト

Unveiling the All-New Land Cruiser “FJ”: A Bold and Exciting World Premiere

October 20, 2025
World economy resilient but underwhelming, says IMF chief – African Business

Global Economy Proves Resilient Yet Growth Falls Short, Warns IMF Chief

October 20, 2025
Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

October 20, 2025
Proteases in intestinal health and disease – Nature

The Vital Role of Proteases in Intestinal Health and Disease

October 20, 2025
Chloe Thurston and Mary McGrath join the Perspectives on Politics editorial team as Associate Editors – Political Science Now

Chloe Thurston and Mary McGrath Join Perspectives on Politics as New Associate Editors

October 20, 2025
African Journal of Ecology paper wins Ig Nobel Prize 2025! – Wiley Online Library

Groundbreaking African Ecology Study Wins 2025 Ig Nobel Prize!

October 20, 2025
Celebrating the Science of Quilts – Hyperallergic

Unraveling the Art and Science Behind Quilts

October 20, 2025
Averting conflict can become Switzerland’s role in Arctic science diplomacy – SWI swissinfo.ch

How Switzerland Can Pave the Path to Peace and Progress in Arctic Science Diplomacy

October 20, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (877)
  • Economy (899)
  • Entertainment (21,770)
  • General (17,709)
  • Health (9,940)
  • Lifestyle (911)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (899)
  • Politics (909)
  • Science (16,109)
  • Sports (21,399)
  • Technology (15,879)
  • World (882)

Recent News

3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

October 21, 2025
This Week in Navy Sports Presented by Navy Federal Credit Union – Naval Academy Athletics

Thrilling Moments from This Week in Navy Sports

October 21, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version