Please help my nephews through this unbelievable situation.

When my brother, Jack Magee, passed away unexpectedly, our family was devastated. He was a father first and foremost. He was a man who deeply loved his two sons and worked hard his entire life to provide for them.

In his will, he left his home to his sons, Quinton and Andrew, so that they would always have something secure from their dad. It was a symbol of his love, sacrifice, and legacy.

Unfortunately, he was in the process of divorce from his second wife, who is not the mother of his sons. Jack purchased the home over 20 years before this marriage and was only married 7 years to his second wife. She decided to leave Jack, taking all of her belongings 6 months before his death. Her name was not on the deed, and she did not contribute financially to the mortgages, which makes the home separate property. However, because the divorce had not been finalized by the court, Texas law allows her to claim that she has a right to live in the home. Texas has a complex homestead right that is intended to protect the surviving spouse, which is wonderful in most cases. What it doesn’t protect are the children in a situation of pending divorce, as in this case. As a result, the estate and my nephews are now facing significant legal proceedings and financial obligations tied to the home.

There are two mortgages on the home, and my nephews, by Texas law, are responsible for paying the principal of the mortgage payments and the homeowner’s insurance while not having any right to enter the home. While ownership of the home was clearly designated to the boys in his will, the law provides certain residential rights to the surviving spouse. This leaves little to no rights for my nephews. As a result, the estate must now navigate legal proceedings and ongoing financial obligations tied to the home.

My nephews are doing everything they can to save the home their father left to them. One is a young firefighter in San Antonio with a wife and two small daughters, working tirelessly while also carrying a mortgage of his own. The other recently graduated from college and is just beginning his professional life.

They did not anticipate inheriting a legal battle and responsibility for making mortgage payments, alongside their grief.

We are working to raise $75,000 to stabilize the situation. This will help cover mortgage payments, required insurance, and legal fees necessary to properly resolve the estate matters and protect their father’s legacy.

I am asking that you would consider making a donation toward this need. They have already lost their father. We are trying to make sure they do not lose the home he worked his whole life to provide for them. Any amount will help and will ease the financial pressure put on my nephews during an extraordinarily difficult chapter in their lives.