Hondo, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Until a couple is granted a divorce by a court, they are considered married. So your stepmother was still your father's wife at the time of his death. Many states allow a surviving spouse some part of the estate (what used to be called the widow's portion) but it's certainly not 50%. If the will is valid, it's unlikely that your stepmother can claim anything beyond what state statute allows.

The brother has taken the appropriate action, filing an action to remove the sister who is not properly executing her duties. Theis will not cause the removal of the co-executor.

I am assuming there is no will. Without a will and with no surviving spouse, the estate is divided equally among the kids. However, if the house was deeded lawfully before death then it is NOT part of the estate since it was not in the name of the deceased at death. To challenge the transfer that was made before death you will have to prove fraud or breach of fiduciary duty (if the person was guardian or attorney in fact). It will be an expensive undertaking (I would be surprised if it was less than $20,000) so the value of the estate will have to be big enough to cover the costs or you won't have much luck getting an attorney. I always tell folks to wait until they are through their grief before they make a decision on something like this.