A woman may lose her home in Cambridge as a result of her mother and stepfather not having a will. Marcell Harrison received a letter from a public administrator of Middlesex County ( a state official who is brought in to handle estates where there is no will and no blood heir living in the state) letting her know that relatives of her stepfather were laying claim to the house under Massachusetts intestate law, which favors blood relatives over chosen family. For the complete Boston Globe article, follow our link: Read More.
A patriarch leaves no will and the home he meant for his Cambridge family may be lost
By Maria Cramer | Boston Globe
CAMBRIDGE — For almost 40 years, Marcelle Harrison’s family has lived in a three-story light-gray home near Central Square. For a time, four generations slept under the same roof.
But when Harrison’s stepfather and mother — Barbadian immigrants Noel and Richlene Aimes — died, neither left a will. And on the day before Thanksgiving, Harrison learned she stood to lose her longtime home to a group of relatives she barely knew.
A letter from a state-appointed lawyer delivered the devastating news: Harrison, 64, was not the rightful heir to the home that her mother and stepfather had bought for $23,000 in 1980, now valued at more than $1 million. Continue Reading
