My mother passed away, and her partner is claiming the house and furniture that she owned before meeting him.
My mother, aged 57, passed away a month ago due to cosmetic abdominal surgery. Her partner, whom she was not married to, had her sign a Quit Claim Deed with survivorship rights in 2022 instead of putting her name on the title of the house. They had been living together since 2017 and decided to buy the home in 2019, but for some reason, her partner took sole ownership of the mortgage loan, even though they split the monthly payments. In 2022, after she insisted that she had no rights to the house if something happened, he had her sign the deed. I am still living in the house with him, but now he wants me to leave, claiming everything inside is his property, despite some furniture my mother bought before their relationship in 2016, for which I have receipts. He is also demanding $8,000 (to pay the loan of the abdominal surgery) from my mother’s life insurance, of which I am the sole beneficiary, and refusing to let me take the furniture she purchased before meeting him. I not going to pay him $8,000,When I have to cover all the funeral expenses, and he never asks if I’m okay or what his part is.
Background: I’m 32 years old, don’t have kids, and my mother and I have always been close. I know all her information—bank accounts, passwords, everything—and I’ve been the one to pay the bills and keep the household organized. She and her partner just contribute their share of the money. He’s 57, has no children, but my mother has always told me not to trust him. I put my life on hold to be with my mother and take care of her because we are immigrants. We started from scratch in the USA, sleeping in a friend’s living room in 2014, eventually becoming U.S. citizens and getting a nice house (loan was $200,000, now worth about $360,000). Then she decided to have surgery without my approval, and her partner got $8,000 from Klarna, and everything just fell apart.
Can the laws help me, or should I just walk away and leave the house?