Our parents lived apart for many years, although they were not divorced. My father died two years after my mother, having made a will leaving his estate to just one of his three sons. Is that legal? The house was in his name only. What would have happened if he hadn’t made a will?
If your mother had outlived your father she would have had a claim on his estate, since they weren’t divorced. But since she died first anything they jointly owned will have gone to your father; so even if the house had been in joint names it would have become his on her death. The sons who have been left out of his will have no claim on his estate unless he was supporting them financially when he died. If he hadn’t made a will his estate would have been split equally between you.