Mom, a joint land owner dies, children seek piece

DEAR LEGAL WIZ,
My mother-in-law died last week. She was married to a British Jamaican man, and they jointly own a property in Jamaica. Her husband is still alive as are her 3 adult children, being: 1) my Husband,2) his sister (both from a previous marriage and 3) their half sister from the current marriage.
She has not left a will, as he was suffering from Dementia for the last 10 years of her life.
I believe that her husband should inherit half of her half of the house, and the 3 “children” should share the other half. Is this correct, and how does one apply for probate in Jamaica to sort it out?
Juds

Dear Juds,
Thanks for writing in. For parties owning property jointly, the property automatically goes to the surviving owner when one of the owners die.
Letters of Administration can only be applied for when the last surviving owner dies, provided that owner did not leave a Will.
So make sure the ownership was joint and not tenants in common. If it is tenants in common, Administration can be applied for by the husband or children of the deceased owner.
Where someone is prescribed by a doctor as without capacity, other steps can be taken before that persons property can be applied for through the courts. An attorney-at-law specialising in Probate and Land Law can assist further and should be consulted or contracted as soon as is possible.
Legal Wiz says thanks for staying connected.
Legal wiz

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