If he should die without a will, will his adult children and grandchildren be entitled to the property and house? Hopefully, you will be able to answer this question and set my mind at ease.

Carla

Dear Carla,

Your husband appears to have control issues at worst or, at best, problems with being direct and transparent. This is not the way to deal with a family property, especially after 25 years of marriage. If your husband wants his children to inherit his estate when he is gone, he should discuss it with you like a man (or woman), face to face, and you should outline a plan for your future together. But this game of cat and mouse, where he makes unilateral decisions about your future, is not a respectful or helpful way to conduct a 25-year marriage.

Not knowing if you’re going to have a place to live after your husband dies, assuming he predeceases you, creates a constant feeling of unease. The whole point of saving for retirement and being fortunate enough to retire comfortably is that you can see out your final years together with the knowledge that you will both be financially secure. Only one person in this relationship knows what that feels like — and, given that you have raised this issue with him, he is aware that you do not enjoy that same peace of mind.

Florida is an equitable distribution state and, for the most part, divides property 50/50. Here’s the legal interpretation from Schnauss Naugle Law in Jacksonville, Fla.: “If the decedent’s homestead property was titled in the decedent’s name alone, and if the decedent was survived by a spouse and descendants, the surviving spouse will have the use of the homestead property for his or her lifetime only (or a life estate), with the decedent’s descendants to receive the decedents’ homestead property only after the surviving spouse dies.”

You will have the right to live in this property for the remainder of your life. If you divorce, however, anything purchased during your marriage is considered marital property, and even though this home was purchased in your husband’s name only, it would be divided 50/50. In Florida, “equitable distribution” is mostly treated as “equal distribution.” According to this interpretation of family law in Florida by Arwani Law: “Even if he purchases the car with his own money and puts the car title in his wife’s name, it is still considered marital property.”

And as most lawyers will tell you, a lack of communication is one way of buying a ticket to divorce.